


The Bad Prince

by LinkCat



Series: The Family Curse [7]
Category: Trolls (2016)
Genre: Assassination, Cancer, Child Death, F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi, Revenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-28
Updated: 2019-03-09
Packaged: 2019-11-06 19:57:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 31
Words: 36,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17946125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LinkCat/pseuds/LinkCat
Summary: After being exiled, Alexandrite returns a little over two years later, seeking revenge.Chapter 1 summary:Life for King Robin and Queen Angel is about to get really rough.





	1. Long Live The King

**Author's Note:**

> This is part 7 of "The family curse." You will want to ready 1-6. Everything will make sense if you read those first. Sorry for any mistakes. Hope you enjoy!

It had been just over two years since the birth of Prince Sparrow. It was the first day of Spring, and Robin was making preparations in the flower pod. He had scented candles set up in the bedroom. He had spread vanilla scented oil down by the bed. He ran a hot bath for Angel. He smiled at his beautiful wife and walked over to her. “Mine…” He pulled her in for a kiss. He looked into her eyes and put his hand on her cheek. “I have a bath all ready for you my queen.”

“You spoil me.” Angel kissed him back and then went to take a bath. She used his favorite shampoo to clean her hair. When she was all done, she put on some rose scented oil on her neck and chest. She then headed into the bedroom and laid down on her chest.

Robin got onto the bed with her. He had stripped nude. He put the vanilla scented oil on his hands and began working knots out of her back and shoulders. The first couple of days of spring were always hard for the colony as everyone started gathering spring harvest. Mostly onions, but they were a very important staple for the villagers. “You carry way too much stress on your shoulders.”

“Mm…but your hands are magical. That feels so good…” Angel slowly relaxed as he worked on her shoulders. She groaned and murmured that he was next.

Once he had worked all the tension out of her shoulders and back, Robin settled down on his belly and shivered when Angel gave his butt a smack. “You’re teasing…”

“So, what if I am?” Angel grinned and put oil on her hands. She went to work on his back. “Oh my goodness, your poor back.” She put gentle but firm pressure on a particularly nasty knot. She worked it out and then ran her hands down his back. She made sure to get his thighs as well. She then turned him over and looked up at him. She gave him a devious grin, before taking his member into her mouth. She began suckling gently.

“Angel…” Robin took her hair into his hands and pulled gently. Her teeth and tongue running along his swollen member felt fantastic. He shivered when she ran her tongue along his sensitive tip. “Oh my god…”

Angel began kissing him from his groin, up his belly, and then his neck. She positioned herself so she was over him. She gently took his swollen member into her hand and positioned his tip over her vaginal entrance. She pushed down very slowly and bit her bottom lip as she felt his length fill her. She slowly rocked her hips, riding Robin happily. She reached down and kissed him passionately. She was very pleased.

They mated for hours, until there was a knock on the door. Robin was on top of Angel at that time. He got off her and cleaned up quickly. He put on a pair of pants and opened the door. “It’s the middle of the night…” His eyes went wide when he realized he was face to face with Alexandrite. He was unarmed. He backed up. “Angel!”

Alexandrite had a knife in his hand. He quickly grabbed Robin by the arm. He stabbed him several times in the chest. He let Robin go when he saw Angel enter the room. He quickly put his knife away and bolted into the darkness of the night.

Angel had heard the struggle and quickly threw a dress on. She came in just in time to see Alex let go of her husband. She rushed over to Robin and began to sob. “Oh my god no!” She picked him up and ran towards the medical pod.

Robin had been hit several times in the lungs. Alex had done this on purpose. He wanted Robin to suffer before he died. He couldn’t breathe. He looked up at his wife. Blood ran out of his mouth and from his stab wounds. He thought of his young son, and the colony. He thought of his brother and sisters. He thought of all the love the colony had shared in his ten years as their king. He thought a silent pray that whatever it was that Alexandrite was doing would not be the demise of his kingdom. His last thoughts were about how much he loved his wife, and how he hoped that she would survive without him.

Angel got to the medical pod and set Robin down. She had her hands over her mouth as Sprout began healing him. “Alexandrite just attacked him!” She was very scared and angry. Her primary focus right now was on Robin. She took his hand. “Oh my god, please don’t leave me. I love you…”

Less than a minute after Robin was brought into the medical pod, he lost his fight to live. He had drowned in his own blood.

Sprout cringed and stepped back. “I’m very sorry Queen Angel. He’s gone…” He hung his head. His heart broke in half. Robin was a peaceful and fair king. His death was devastating. Tears filled his eyes. He turned to her and hugged her tightly.

Angel hugged into Sprout and began to sob. “Oh my god no…”

A few hours later, everyone gathered for Robin’s funeral. Everyone in the village was gray. Everyone was frightened and watched their backs. Robin’s assassination was sudden and brutal. 

“Thank you everyone for coming here today to honor our fallen King. I want to put out a mandatory troll hunt. Alexandrite must be found and killed. I fear that Robin is not his only target. Please watch your backs and stay safe.” Queen Angel stepped down and picked Sparrow up. She held her young son close and sobbed. She was very upset.

Sparrow hugged into his mommy and cried. He didn’t understand why she was crying, but he didn’t like it. The little toddler was frightened.

Everyone bowed their heads and gave King Robin a moment of silence. They were all scared and hoped that Alexandrite would be found.


	2. A Royal Debate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Robin’s funeral, everyone gathers to discuss who is going to take over until Maximus is old enough to take the crown.

“I can’t do it.” Angel was sitting on a mushroom stump. She had Sparrow in her arms. Tears ran down her cheeks. “I can’t rule this kingdom without him. I’m stepping down.”

“Are you sure about this?” Poppy was right by Angel’s side. She was very sad for the widow and wanted to make sure she made the right choice. She knew Angel was very upset. She knew how hard it was to lose a spouse.

“Yes, I’m sure.” Angel sniffled and ran her hand through Sparrow’s long two-toned hair. Tears ran down her cheeks. She was heartbroken.

“Let’s make this official. We have a lot of arrangements to make. Someone has to step up in your place.” Poppy took her hand gently and headed towards the fire pit. “Sit here. I will get everyone we will need for this.” She left Angel go and went to go everyone whom could possibly take over and had the proper knowledge to lead the colonies. She soon returned with Guy Diamond, Branch, Creek, Smidge, Penelope, Cherry, and Pistachio for moral support of the younger generations. She then went to get the oldest children whom could take over. She soon returned with Olive, Carnation, Rapid, Daisy, Basil, Bask, Pearl, Sky, Habanero, Kayura, Rosa, Coral, Jubilee, Spring, Bee, Hazel, Rosemary, Infinity, Nutmeg, Cumin, Selene, Serenity, Cookie, Dim, River, Candy, Nano, Thyme, Beetle, Jet, Kale, Chamomile, Caraway, and Scarlet. All possible candidates for the throne, along with their spouses.

“Branch can’t keep his pants on.” Cherry shook her head. She couldn’t believe how many of those faces were Branch’s children. 

“No, he can’t.” Basil smirked. He was heavily pregnant. He hadn’t wanted to come, but Poppy insisted it was especially important for him to come, considering he was the first in line for the throne on Branch’s side.

“Oh, like you have a lot of room to talk Basil. You’re carrying babies number what? Seven and eight? And Pearl is having baby number nine?” Cherry chuckled.

“I’m doing better then Sky. He’s got ten kids, with an eleventh on the way.” Basil stuck out his tongue.

“You had to bring up my kids.” Sky protested. He had his hand on his belly. He was five and a half months pregnant himself. Both him and Habanero had finally restored their colors very recently, but he was gray due to Robin’s death.

“We’re not here to debate family size. We’re here to discuss who is going to take over the crown. Angel is stepping down as of today. The first troll in line in Branch’s kingdom is Basil. The first in line in my kingdom is Carnation. If neither of you want to take the crown, we must decide who will take over instead. I have brought you all here just in case there was too many whom didn’t want to take over. I also brought Candy and her family here because she does have the experience and was a queen to be in her own right before joining my kingdom.” Poppy looked serious. She was very concerned about the well being of the colony. She wanted to make sure whomever took over knew what they were going to get themselves into and assure that they got proper training. Not all of them knew what they would be doing.

“I’ll take it.” Carnation and Basil both said at the same time.

Carnation shot a glare towards Basil. “Are you serious Basil? You’re blind…” She put her hand over her mouth when she said the word blind. She groaned internally, knowing she was going to be in trouble for that move not only by her mother, but by Basil and Branch as well.

“So..?” Basil looked in Carnation’s general direction. “It hasn’t stopped me from much of anything yet. I can rule this colony just as well as you and Rapid could.”

“Basil is right Carnation. He could rule this colony. Besides he won’t be alone. He has Bask and Pearl. They would make great kings and queen.” Poppy stood in front of them. “Alright, from this day, until the day Maximus turns twenty-one in just under nine years’ time, King Basil, King Bask, and Queen Pearl will be regents of this kingdom. I want you all to give them respect. I’m sure they will do us all proud.”

Alexandrite had been hearing the debate from a branch on a tree. He had blended in. He had a bow and arrows with him. He had three more targets in mind. All three of them were in his sights. He knew he had to do this fast, or he wasn’t going to be able to hit them all. He drew his arrow and took aim. He released the first bow, hitting Poppy in the chest. He quickly got the next arrow ready and aimed for Guy Diamond. He released, hitting his father in the abdomen. He grabbed the last arrow and aimed for Sky. He saw that Sky was pregnant. He almost didn’t do it but remembered the day he was exiled. He took aim and shot Sky in the chest.

It all happened so fast. Poppy collapsed and died immediately. Alexandrite had hit her in the heart. 

Guy Diamond put his hands on the arrow. He groaned and looked towards the direction that the arrow came from. He winced and looked over at Poppy. He teared up and hugged into her. A few tears ran down his cheeks as he held his dead wife. He had been hit in the liver. He died less then a minute later from internal bleeding.

Sky startled when the arrow penetrated his chest. He gasped for air and looked at Habanero with wide eyes. “My baby…” Even though he wasn’t hit in the belly, he was worried about his unborn child. He put his hand up, feeling that it was dangerously close to his heart. He cringed and took a shaky breath.

A scramble ensued. Sky was picked up and quickly hurried to the medical pod. Carnation and Daisy ran over to their parents. Both sobbed when they realized that their mom and dad were dead.

Basil clenched his fists. He pulled out his knife. He focused on the spiritual presence of Alexandrite. “That mother fucker!” He climbed the tree and grabbed Alexandrite. A struggle ensued. Basil threw in a few stabs into Alexandrite. He hollered in pain, feeling a contraction. He kicked Alexandrite in the balls and heard him fall. He climbed down and grabbed Alexandrite and took the knife. He raised it up and then stabbed him right in the chest. He sneered, feeling the life go out of Alexandrite. He let him go and held his stomach. He hollered in pain during the next contraction. 

Branch had tried to get a stab into Alexandrite too, but Basil moved fast, and he was worried he would get stabbed by his angry son. Once it was all over, he gently grabbed Basil and took him in his arms. “Let’s go make sure you’re not hurt.” He didn’t like that Basil had been crying out in pain. He ran towards the medical pod. Once there, he set Basil down in a bed. He looked around but didn’t see Sky. He looked very worried.

“They just took him back to surgery.” Pearl frowned, seeing that Basil was in pain. “Is he alright?” She was worried about him and the twins.

Bask had carried Sky into the medical pod. He looked worried as he hurried over. “Oh god, Basil. Did you get stabbed?!”

“No, I’m having contractions!” Basil gritted his teeth and breathed. He looked towards the back room. He could feel his brother’s spiritual presence in that room. His heart pounded in his chest. He could tell Sky wasn’t well. He swallowed hard when he suddenly heard the cries of a newborn baby. “They took his baby out.” He began to sob. He saw that as a really bad sign.

Jelly came out of the back room with Sky’s newborn. She looked just like her daddy. She was still crying when Jelly gently gave the baby to Habanero. She looked worried as she hurried back into the backroom.

Habanero sobbed and held his daughter close. “Oh god, please let him live…” He sniffled and looked down at her. “I’m naming you in honor of your grandparents. Your name is Heaven.” He was in a state of shock. He couldn’t believe that Alexandrite, his stepbrother, had killed their parents and may have possibly killed his mate. He was shaking upset.

Branch walked over to Habanero and held him. He looked very worried. He hoped Sky would make it.

Basil breathed and sniffled. Tears ran down his cheeks. “Please be alright…” He cringed and grasped the side of the bed during the next contraction. He swallowed hard. “I feel pressure!!!” He cried out in pain.

Bask grabbed a blanket and hurried over. “I’ve got it Basil. You’re doing a good job.” He caught the first twin as he was born. He was light teal like his daddy with orange and green two-toned hair. He cried as he daddy cleaned him up. He gently gave him to Basil and waited for the second twin.

“Oh god!” Basil screamed in fear and pain. He had just sensed his brother’s spirit flicker off. “Oh my god he killed him!” He sobbed. He cried out when his daughter was born. He was shaking upset.

Bask caught the second twin as she was born. She was light green with capri blue hair. She cried as her daddy cleaned her. He frowned, realizing that Basil was talking about Sky. He held their daughter to his chest and began to cry.

Sprout came out of the back room. Tears ran down his cheeks. He walked over to Branch and whispered to him. “We tried everything we could, but he didn’t make it. The damage was too great. I’m very sorry…”

Branch broke down and began to cry. He held Habanero close and squeezed his eyes shut. His second oldest living child was gone. He was very worried about Habanero. He didn’t want to let him go.

Habanero held his daughter to his chest and sobbed inconsolably. His mate, his love, the father of his babies, and the sweetest soul he had ever met was gone. His was devastated.

Several hours later, everyone gathered for the funerals of Poppy, Guy Diamond, and Sky.

Bask stepped up to the front. “Thank you, everyone for gathering here today. It is with a heavy heart that we must say good bye to two great leaders, and a devoted father and prince. Right before these tragic events occurred, Basil, Pearl, and I were declared regent. We promise to do everything we can to protect you all. I will reassure you that their murderer is dead. King Basil made it so. Let’s take a moment and give a peaceful silence. Remember the good times they gave us, and how much joy they gave us all.”

Basil was there, sitting down with Habanero right by his side. He told Habanero he would nurse their newborn daughter. Tears ran down his cheeks. He had his son and daughter in his arms. He had decided to name them Sky and Horizon, in his brother’s honor. He would stay strong and be a good leader, like his brother would have wanted him to be.


	3. Living With A Broken Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angel and Habanero face the challenges of life without their spouses.

After the deaths of Robin and Sky, Angel and Habanero were put on immediate suicide watch. It had only been a week since their deaths. Angel was staying with Biggie, Rocket, and Emma’s home, while Habanero stayed at Branch, Smidge, Creek, and Penelope’s home. Both were devastated. They were bonded to their mates and were not handling their losses well. Sparrow rarely left his mother’s side. Habanero’s children were temporarily living with Basil, Bask, and Pearl, since Basil was the only one who could nurse Heaven.

“Let’s go see Heaven.” Branch got a sweater on and handed Habanero a sweater. He looked worried. Habanero hadn’t been eating, and he feared that the broken-hearted father would give up and die. He wanted him to see his kids in hopes that he would bounce back from this tragedy.

Habanero teared up and shook his head. “She looks just like him. I can’t…” Tears ran down his cheeks. He set the sweater down and cried into his hands.

Smidge walked over to Habanero and pulled him into a gentle hug. “She needs her daddy Habanero. Let’s go see her…” He helped him into the sweater and had him stand up. She led him towards the door. She was very concerned for him.

Branch walked with them towards Basil’s flower pod. Once at the door, he knocked on it.

Bask answered the door and smiled softly. “I was hoping you would come.” He walked towards the bedroom. “Basil, your parents are here with Habanero.”

Basil was changing Sky. He put his son’s clothes on, and then tucked him into his hair by his sister Horizon and cousin Heaven. He gently took Heaven out of his hair and walked towards Habanero. He gently gave him his daughter and smiled. “Your kids have missed you…”

Habanero sat down with Heaven. He snuggled into her and sobbed. She was a perfect copy of her father. He missed him so much. “Oh god, my heart…” He was shaking.

Pearl walked over and sat down by her little brother. She hugged him gently and teared up. She was so worried about him. “I’m here for you…” She didn’t want to lose him.

Jingle walked over and snuggled into Habanero’s lap. The almost four-year-old was very worried about her daddy. She climbed onto the couch and signed that she missed her daddy Sky and didn’t want daddy Habanero leaving again. She could sense that he was very sad. Tears filled her eyes and ran down her cheeks. She was scared. She put her hand on Heaven as she leaned into Habanero. 

Jasmine hurried over to her daddy and climbed onto the couch. She snuggled into him, mindful of her baby sister Heaven.

Pyro sniffled and put his hand on his daddy’s leg. Tears ran down his cheeks. “We all miss you so much dad.”

Dash sniffled and rubbed his face of tears. He was stood by Pyro but didn’t look up. He had been silent and gray.

Cotton walked over and put a teddy in Habanero’s lap. She then turned to her twin Silk and hugged into her. She sobbed sadly.

Silk cried with her sister. She startled when Plum walked over and snuggled into them. Jalapeno snuggled into them too and cried. All of Habanero’s children cried with them. They were very sad.

Branch sat down on the couch and picked up Foam when he walked over. He held him as the little cried too. “I know little ones. I miss your daddy too…” He sniffled. He wished he knew how to make them all feel better.

“Have you eaten?” Basil looked worried. He could sense that Habanero felt unwell. He didn’t want him dying on them too.

“No…” Habanero sniffled and rubbed his face of tears.

“He refuses to…” Smidge looked sad.

“Habanero, you have got to eat.” Basil walked into the kitchen and grabbed a biscuit. He walked over to him and gave it to him. “Please, your babies need you…”

Pearl took Heaven carefully so that Habanero could eat. “Please little brother…”

Habanero frowned and chocked up a sob. He shook his head and gave the biscuit to Jingle. He put his face into his hands and leaned into his older sister. He wasn’t cooping with the loss at all.

At Biggie’s home, it wasn’t much better. Emma had prepared lunch and had set up the table. She made sure there was enough for everyone. Angel had hardly eaten.

Angel set Sparrow down at the table and made sure he ate. She was quiet. She hadn’t said much since moving into their flower pod. She appreciated that her friend Emma had taken her in, but she missed Robin. She knew she wasn’t going to get him back. She sighed when Emma put a sandwich in her hand. She looked up at her, and then began to eat it quietly. She didn’t feel like arguing with her this time.

“Thank you for eating Angel.” Emma gave Sparrow a cookie and watched him eat. She was sad and grateful at the same time that Sparrow looked so much like Robin.

“How are your oldest girls?” Angel tried hard to catch up with Emma and keep conversations away from her grief. She really didn’t want to talk about Robin.

“Jade is doing great. She still hasn’t gotten serious, but it’s alright. She doesn’t have to find a partner if she doesn’t want one. Apple and Kiwi are doing good too. Hard to believe that they’ve been out of the house a year. It was like yesterday that they were babies.” Emma smiled softly.

Biggie listened quietly and ate. He thought of Blueberry, Holly, and Grape. They had recently moved out. They had turned eighteen several months earlier.

“Jade is shy.” Rocket smiled softly. He threw a crumbled-up tissue at Minnow. “Manners boy! Elbows off the table.”

“Sorry dad.” Minnow finished his lunch and excused himself. He walked over to the sink and began doing the dishes. The eleven-year-old boy was getting tall and appeared to be a giant troll like his father Biggie.

Precious finished her lunch and set the dish in the sink. She hugged Minnow, and then walked over and gave Angel a hug. “I’m sorry.” She was sad that Angel was sad.

Angel hugged Precious back, and then set Sparrow down when he was done eating. She finished her sandwich and got up. “I’m going to go take a bath.” She went to the bathroom and began running a bath. Once it was all set, she stepped into it and soaked in the water. She cried quietly. She wasn’t cooping well without Robin either. She missed him so much.


	4. A Little Shine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jade tries to cheer up a grief-stricken Habanero.

Another week had gone by. Habanero had managed to sneak away from everyone. He sat down by Sky’s grave and put a flower on his grave. Tears ran down his cheeks. “I’m not sure I can do this without you Sky…” He rubbed his cheeks of tears. “It’s not the same without you. It took two years for us to recover from losing Bubbles. I don’t think I can do this again…”

Jingle had been following Habanero. She caught up and clung to her father like glue. She frowned and put her hand on his face. She could feel the tears on his face. She sensed he was also having a mix of grief, sadness, and guilty. The confused young trolling burst into tears and cried into his chest. She was very worried that he would disappear, like her daddy Sky had.

Habanero felt his heart break. He wasn’t surprised that Jingle had found him. She was a very smart child. He ran his hand through her red hair. He signed into her hand that he was sad and missed daddy Sky. He sniffled and held her close. He had thought of suicide, but a huge factor that stopped him was that he didn’t want all eleven of his kids to be orphaned. It wouldn’t be fair to them.

“There you are. You’ve got everyone panicked, thinking you snuck off to do something that would break everyone’s hearts.” Jade hurried over to him and pulled him into a tight hug. She closed her eyes tightly and held him. “I’m so glad you’re alright.”

Habanero hugged into Jade and sniffled. “Sorry…”

Jingle was sandwiched between Jade and Habanero. She reached up and put her hand on Jade’s lips. She waited, thinking she was missing out on something. She sometimes understood what was being said, but it wasn’t as easy to understand as sign language was.

“I should go tell them you’re alright, but I don’t want to take you away from Sky.” Jade let him go and looked at the grave. “Is there anything I can do to help you Habanero?”

“If you could somehow revive him…” Tears filled Habanero’s eyes and ran down his cheeks.

“I’m afraid I can’t do that.” Jade knelt down and held Jingle close. She could tell the young trolling was confused and scared. She felt awful for them. She remembered what it was like when her father Rocket had thought that her mother Emma had died. It had been a very hard time in his life and keeping him alive and going had been very rough. “I can cook and clean. I can help with the kids. I can make blankets and sweets. Anything you want, I will figure out a way to make it so.”

Habanero looked up at her and smiled softly. “You’re very sweet Jade. You seem just as worried as everyone else.” He pulled out a tissue and blew his nose. “I miss him. I’m not sure what will help me right now. I either got to cope or break more hearts and give up. I don’t think I can do that to our children.”

“You’re a great father Habanero. I know your children thank you and love you with all their hearts. If you need anything at all, I’m willing to help. Just let me know.” Jade sat down and put Jingle in her lap. She ran her hand through the little one’s hair. She looked worried.

“Thank you, Jade.” Habanero sat down by her and leaned into her. He needed the warmth and feeling of love right now and knowing that she cared helped him a lot. He closed his eyes and prayed that he would make it through this rough patch in his life. This was by far the roughest. He was worried he might not survive it.

Roughly an hour later, Branch came up to them. He hurried over and helped Habanero to his feet. “You scared us!” He pulled his tiny son in law in for a hug. “I should’ve known you would come over here.” He looked at Jade and Jingle. “Thank you for watching him Jade.” He picked up Jingle and held her. “Oh god, I was so scared.” He had been worried about Jingle too. She was a naughty girl sometimes, but so far had survived all her little adventures, mostly thanks to her pet Bogwolf, Shadow. Shadow never let anything near her tiny owner.

“Sorry Branch.” Habanero hugged him back and looked towards camp. “We should head back. I probably have my sister upset too.” He had just realized that. He hoped she didn’t freak out too much. It would break his heart if she had gone into labor too early. His little niece or nephew needed to grow a bit more before he or she was born.

“Let’s get going.” Jade took his hand and walked towards camp.

Branch carried Jingle towards home. He was so glad that Habanero hadn’t taken his life. That had been terrifying.


	5. Scared Strangers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two mysterious females show up, putting Basil and Bask on edge.

A week later, two trolls entered the territory. “Alex?! Oh god, where could he have gone?” A baby pink glitter troll with light pink hair and mint green eyes looked at another female troll. Her name was Morganite. She looked worried.

“We will find him. He said he lived in this area for years. He probably came back to check on his family.” A dark magenta glitter troll with maroon colored hair and brown eyes tried reassuring her partner. Her name was Spinel. She looked worried, had her hand on her belly. She was pregnant and thinking they should head back if he wasn’t at his home colony.

Basil was on his way to grab some wood. He had Heaven, Horizon, and Sky in his hair. He frowned when he sensed the two females. He cautiously made his way in their direction. They didn’t appear to be a threat, and it appeared they had young spirits with them. “Hello?”

“Did you hear that Morganite?” Spinel looked at her partner and frowned. She looked nervous.

“Yeah, I heard it.” Morganite cautiously walked towards Basil’s voice. She spotted him and smiled softly. “Hello, my name is Morganite. You can call me Morgan. We are looking for a troll by the name of Alexandrite…”

Basil frowned at the mentioned of Alexandrite. He thought for a moment and nodded. “Yes, there was a troll here a few weeks ago that went by that name. He murdered four trolls.”

“That doesn’t sound like Alex.” Spinel frowned and shook her head. “Thank you for your time.”

Morganite felt her heart break. “What did this troll look like?” Her heart began to race. It didn’t sound like Alexandrite, but she had to make sure it wasn’t him that had been through this area.

“He was a silver troll with light pink hair.” Basil was tense. He could tell that one of them was very tense, and the other was scared. He could sense a baby in Morganite’s hair, and an unborn baby within the each of them.

Spinel widened her eyes. “That was Alexandrite…” She swallowed hard. “Where is he?!”

“He was executed…” Basil kept a distance between him and these females. He had babies in his hair. He didn’t want anything to happen to the babies. They were only three weeks old, and very precious.

“What?!” Morganite broke down and began to sob. “Oh my god…” She put her face into her hands and began to sob.

“I don’t believe you.” Spinel let out a sob. “He would never harm a soul!” She was shaking upset. “Tell us where he is?!”

“He was buried by the river so he wouldn’t attract predators. He killed his parents and two very special trolls. He also was exiled from this place two years ago for statutory rape. I recommend leaving or calming down.” Basil was uneasy. He whistled loudly, hoping that Bask, or someone else would hear him and come running over.

Bask heard him and came running that way. He arrived and looked between the two female trolls. “What’s going on?!”

“I’m pregnant with his baby!” Morganite cried into her hands. She was extremely upset. “He can’t be gone. Oh god Spinel, I’m scared…”

“Fine, we’re leaving.” Spinel saw Bask come up. She glared at him and turned to go. She sniffled and rubbed her cheek of tears. “He’s lying. Alex is alive. He’ll be back.”

“Alex?! That stupid son of a bitch killed very important trolls here. He was killed.” Bask looked uneasy. He could see that Spinel was heartbroken and pregnant.

“Let them go. They think Alexandrite is alive. I sure hope all three of those kids stay safe.” Basil crossed his arms. He was not amused. He didn’t like being called a liar. “It’s dangerous walking around with babies and no protection.” He headed for his flower pod. He was fuming.

“How the heck do you know there are three?!” Morganite looked confused and upset. She had said she was pregnant, and Spinel was obviously pregnant, but she hadn’t mentioned her daughter, whom was tucked securely to her head.

“Shh! Let’s go Morganite…” Spinel turned to go and put her hand on her belly. “We should have never left home.”

“Three? Oh, it’s not safe around here outside the territory. There was wingdingles, tokami, bergens, praying mantises…” Bask shook his head. “Scary stuff…”

“Not to mention bogwolves. Oh! There is one now!” Basil kept a straight face as his black bogwolf Galaxy came bonding towards him with her tongue lolled out. She had heard him whistle.

Morganite and Spinel screamed and bolted away from the bogwolf. They had no idea that it was tamed.

“Galaxy, sit!” Bask pointed towards the ground and widened his eyes when she licked him with her large long tongue before plopping her rear onto the ground. She still acted like a puppy.

“Galaxy, you naughty girl. You scared them away.” Basil chuckled and walked over to her. He patted her paw and grinned. “Who’s a good protector?! You are!”

Morganite hid in the grass and looked out towards them. She held her chest and groaned. “It’s tamed…”

“Let’s go Morganite…” Spinel had blended in, but now that they saw it was safe, she resided her hair. She headed for the outskirts of the territory. She stopped and put her hand on her belly. “Oh god.” She was having a contraction. “That hurts…”

Bask looked towards where the girls ran. He frowned hearing Spinel say that it hurts. He hurried over and swallowed hard when he saw that her hands were on her swollen belly. “We have healers here. Let’s get you to our medical pod…”

Basil walked over and frowned. “She’s appears to be in labor.”

“We don’t even know you!” Morganite got between Bask and Basil, and Spinel. She was fiercely protective of her mate.

“Morganite, I think I’m in labor.” Spinel frowned and swallowed. She looked scared. “Oh god, I’m not due yet…”

“A premature baby will not survive out here. It’s not safe. Please let me help you.” Bask gently took her hand and led her towards the medical pod.

“I’ll go tell them what’s going on.” Basil hurried ahead to get help.

Morganite glared at Bask when he took Spinel’s hand. She stayed close. She was very worried.

Spinel took Bask’s hand and squeezed it during the next contraction. Tears ran down her cheeks. If they had killed Alexandrite, they could easily kill her, Morganite, and their babies. She was petrified.

Bask went into the medical pod and helped her into a medical bed. He stepped back but stayed to make sure that these girls behaved themselves. “How old are you two?”

Once they were in the medical pod, Basil hurried home. Heaven had woken up and he was worried they might start to cry. He needed the babies safe. He knew Bask had them taken care of.

“I’m twenty-two.” Morganite took Spinel’s hand and held it. She looked nervous. 

Spinel squeezed Morganite’s hand and cringed. “I’m twenty-one.”

Sprout walked over. “Hello, my name is Sprout. I’m going to check you. How far along are you?” He checked her and yelped when she kicked him in the family jewels. He groaned and backed up. He held himself and began healing himself. He looked at Spinel with wide eyes. It was the first time he’d ever been attacked when helping a pregnant female. He was surprised.

Spinel glared at him. He put his hand where it didn’t belong. She sneered and put a blanket over herself. She was not amused.

Morganite glared at Sprout. She wasn’t amused either.

“Easy does it. He’s a healer. He’s not going to hurt you.” Bask turned to Sprout. “Are you alright?”

“I’m alright. She’s feisty. Smidge has competition…” Sprout watched Spinel from a distance. “I can help you if you let me.”

“Don’t touch me!” Spinel breathed hard and cringed. She was scared, and very ready to defend her unborn baby. She cried out, feeling her baby make its way out. She reached down and grabbed her son when he came out. He was a magenta glitter troll with light pink hair. He was tiny and premature. She patted his back and wept. “Please cry…”

“I can save him.” Sprout inched closer. He looked worried. “I’ve saved preemies before.”

“Let him help Spinel.” Morganite looked worried.

Spinel gently gave her son to Sprout. She looked very worried.

Sprout took the baby to a bed and laid him down. He cleared the baby’s mouth and began rubbing him gently with a blanket. “Cry for me little one.” He sighed in relief when the little one let out soft cries. “Good boy…” He put a diaper on the little one and wrapped him up in a blanket. “He should stay here for observation for at least a week. He appears to be dangerously premature.” He gently gave him back to his mama. He gently helped him latch to her and watched him nurse. “He’s eager to feed. That’s a good sign.”

Spinel glared at him when he touched that area too. She sighed in relief and watched her son nurse, once he latched on. “I’m going to name you Quartz…”

“He’s beautiful.” Morganite looked nervous. Her daughter began to cry. She pulled out a six-month-old from her hair. She let her nurse and looked towards Sprout and Bask. She wasn’t sure about staying there for a week, but she wanted Quartz to be safe.

Diamond was a silver glitter trolling with baby pink hair. She looked up at her mom as she nursed.

Bask watched Spinel and Morganite. He wasn’t sure about these glitter trolls. They seemed very feisty and protective, but he didn’t blame them. He wondered how much Alexandrite told them, and if he had told them any lies. It made him nervous, but he didn’t want to see babies being killed. He hoped them staying wasn’t going to be a mistake.


	6. Protective Mamas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Honey talks to the new trolls.

“So, you knew Alexandrite?” Honey was trying to get more information. Morganite and Spinel had been in the village for just over twenty-four hours. They had relaxed slightly but were still uneasy. She didn’t blame them for being so scared. She was worried and curious about the babies. They appeared to be Alexandrite’s children, making them her great grandchildren by marriage.

“Yes, he was our mate.” Morganite had Diamond snuggled close. She hadn’t slept. She was very worried that someone was going to hurt her, her mate, her son, her daughter, or her unborn baby.

“Morganite, you’re talking too much…” Spinel had Quartz sprawled on her chest. He was doing well considering he was premature. She hadn’t slept well and was exhausted.

“Do you understand the crime he committed?” Honey talked softly. She knew the girls were frightened.

“We know of the crime he was accused of. That was not the Alexandrite we knew. It’s impossible.” Morganite frowned. “The Alex we knew was very sweet and took care of us and his daughter.”

“Morganite! You’re talking too much!” Spinel flushed and glared towards her mate. She was not amused.

“He killed his parents, our king, and one of the princes. It was likely an act of revenge. He was exiled just over two years ago. The four he killed were present during his banishment.” Honey explained. “Alexandrite was a sweet and shy troll. He had a lot of insecurity issues because of a fire he nearly died in. He didn’t think anyone loved him because of his burn scars. I saved his life the day of the fire. He was six when the fire occurred, so I believe he had some major post-traumatic stress. The teenager he mated with said he did get permission, but since she was sixteen years old, he broke laws that were punishable by exile. He appears to have not taken that well at all.”

“He told us about the scars. He said a troll named Honey saved his life. Your retelling of the story is accurate, and your name is Honey, so I want to believe you. It just hurts to think he killed four lives. He had so much to live for. He has a daughter. I don’t even understand why he suddenly left.” Morganite teared up. She was so confused. “He even named his daughter after his father. One of the trolls he supposedly killed…”

Spinel grabbed her pillow and whapped Morganite. “You’re not listening!” She was flushed, angry, and worried about their safety.

“Sprout warned me you were feisty.” Honey watched Spinel. “I would expect a new mother to be protective. Those children have great mamas.”

“Spinel, her story is accurate. I trust her. If she saved Alex when he was a kid, then I’m happy to talk to her.” Morganite looked down at Diamond. “I still don’t understand. Why would he kill them? He had a great life in our colony…”

Spinel put her pillow down and grumbled. She was unamused.

“I think it was because he was angry. Perhaps a bad dream made him recall bad times in his life, or he made a realization that what they did felt unfair. It seems we may never know. He’s gone.” Honey frowned. “Alexandrite was my grandson. That makes Diamond and Quartz my great grandchildren. I’m worried about you two going back home. Basil is right. It’s not safe.”

“I’ve got to get back home. My brother will freak out.” Morganite frowned. She looked concerned.

“Beryl would go on a rampage if anything ever happens to us.” Spinel warned. “My brother in law is fiercely protective.”

“You’re unharmed. If he comes, we will make sure he sees that you’re both safe. He shouldn’t go on a rampage. It’s alright.” Honey reassured.

Jingle came into the flower pod. The curious little one had sensed the new arrivals and had finally escaped. It was in the middle of the night, but that didn’t matter to her. She walked over to Spinel’s bed and quietly climbed onto it. She put her hand on the baby. She smiled, feeling his fast but steady breaths. She frowned when Spinel moved him away.

Spinel watched the trolling. She widened her eyes when Jingle touched Quartz. She picked him up and put him in her hair. She fixed him to her head gently. She was nervous.

Jingle sat on Spinel’s lap and put her hands up to Spinel’s face. She ran her hand along her face. She liked that she was glittery. She cocked her head, sensing that she was tense.

“What is up with this child? Stop that!” Spinel put her down on the ground and blinked when Jingle climbed back up. She pushed her hand away when Jingle reached towards her hair. She didn’t want the older child touching her preemie. “No!”

Honey watched and frowned. She had promised Basil not to say anything about his, Fairy, Symphony, and Jingle’s disabilities. She cringed, seeing that Jingle was insistent. She walked over and picked her up.

“She’s pretty…” Morganite smiled softly. “What is her name?”

Jingle scrunched up her nose and screamed loudly when Honey picked her up.

“She’s loud and doesn’t understand personal space.” Spinel wasn’t amused.

“Her name is Jingle. Her father was one of the ones that was killed by Alexandrite. She has been confused and upset.” She set Jingle down and sighed when she walked over to Morganite.

Jingle walked over to Morganite and put her hand on Diamond’s back. She squealed in delight, realizing she was a glitter troll too. She clapped her hands and signed to Honey that she was happy.

“Poor baby.” Morganite watched her and smiled softly when she got excited. “How old are you sweetheart?”

Spinel sighed and pulled Quartz out of her hair again. She let him nurse. She kept an eye on Jingle.

“She will be turning four very soon. Her mother died two years ago in childbirth. Her stepdad is raising her now…” Honey looked worried. She had a feeling Morganite and Spinel were going to figure out that she was blind and deaf. She walked over and picked Jingle up again. “Where is your daddy?” She put her hand under Jingle’s hand and slowly signed, asking her the same question.

Jingle grunted and flushed. She was about to scream again when Honey started to sign into her hand. She concentrated on it and then signed that her daddy was sleeping.

“Is she deaf?” Morganite was confused. “She hasn’t said a word and it looks like she knows sign language.”

Spinel frowned and watched the little one. She had a feeling Morganite was right. “She appears to be blind too.”

Honey cringed and sat Jingle down on her lap. “She was born completely blind and deaf. I was supposed to keep it secret, but it’s very obvious. I had a feeling you two would figure it out…”

“You take care of the disabled here?” Morganite smiled softly. She thought that was very sweet.

“Poor kid. She probably doesn’t know any different though. No wonder she was so loud and doesn’t understand personal space.” Spinel sighed. “Our village takes care of their people too. It’s not nice to be mean to those who can’t take care of themselves.”

“Sounds like you were in a great village.” Honey snuggled with Jingle. She didn’t want to leave, just in case of an emergency. She knew Jingle was safe with her though, and that Basil or Habanero would likely check the medical pod first. Jingle loved Honey and visited her often.

“I guess this place isn’t as bad as we thought. I’m still nervous though. I miss Alex…” Morganite sighed and looked down at Diamond.

“I’m not ready to trust just yet. I have a son and daughter to protect, along with an unborn child…” Spinel wasn’t going to be as easily persuaded, but she was a lot more relaxed then she had been the evening before. She just needed time to see if they were actually safe. She was protective.


	7. A Little Surprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cherry has a rough morning.

Cherry woke up the next morning feeling very uncomfortable. She snuggled into Pistachio and closed her eyes. “Oh god, I don’t think dinner agreed with me…” She wasn’t sure why she had been so gassy lately. She groaned in discomfort.

Pistachio looked over at her. “What’s wrong sweetheart?” He sat up and pulled her close. He didn’t like when she was uncomfortable.

“My belly hurts…” Cherry got up and headed for the bathroom. She finished and frowned noticing she was bleeding. “Pistachio, I need to go to the medical pod. I’m bleeding.” She walked to her dresser and put on a dress.

Pistachio frowned and got up. He picked her up and hurried towards the medical pod. He didn’t like that at all.

Cherry frowned and hugged into him. She looked scared. “If I didn’t know any better, I would think I’m in labor…” She found this impossible. No one had told her she was expecting, and she hadn’t felt pregnant. She hadn’t puked or anything.

“Is she alright?” Pearl had seen Pistachio rushing towards the medical pod with her aunt in law. She hurried after him, ignoring the fact that Basil hadn’t wanted her near the new trolls yet.

“She’s in pain and is bleeding.” Pistachio got to the medical pod and set her down. He looked over at the new trolls and swallowed hard. He was nervous. 

Cherry groaned and held her belly. “Oh god, I’m in so much pain…” Tears ran down her cheeks.

Pearl looked over at Morganite and Spinel as she came in. She stood by the Cherry and took her hand. “Do you want anyone here?”

Sage walked over and smiled at Cherry. “Hi Cherry. I’m going to check you over. Alright?” She put her hand on Cherry’s belly and smiled softly. She could sense a new life inside her. “How far along are you?” She could see she was a little swollen in the midsection.

“I’m not pregnant…” Cherry cringed and swallowed hard.

“You’re pregnant Cherry.” Sage checked her progress. “This baby will come soon.” She looked worried. She had no idea if the baby was premature or not. She got supplies ready, just in case they were needed.

Pistachio widened his eyes. They hadn’t planned on having any more kids. They were happy with the three that they had early on in their marriage. “She’s what?!” His eyes rolled back, and he fainted.

Cherry frowned and watched her mate faint. She groaned and gritted her teeth. “I didn’t know I was pregnant! Why didn’t anyone tell me?!” She breathed hard.

“It’s going to be alright.” Pearl reassured. She gave Cherry’s hand a gentle squeeze. “I thought you knew. Basil told me you were pregnant. We all thought you were having empty nest syndrome like DJ with her triplets.”

“You’re the smallest troll I’ve every seen.” Morganite had moved closer. She tucked Diamond into her hair. She looked nervous.

Pistachio came to and groaned. He held his head and looked up at his wife’s bed.

“I wouldn’t tell that to anyone who is her stature.” Cherry looked at Morganite and frowned. She cringed during a contraction. “Especially Smidge…”

“I’m tiny but mighty.” Pearl turned to Morganite and glared at her.

“Oh my god, you look like a tiny gooseberry.” Morganite noticed that Pearl was pregnant. She looked at her right shoulder. “Where is your right arm?”

Pistachio got up and frowned. “I would stop while you can. She’s going to eat you alive.” He warned Morganite.

“She’s new Queen Pearl, go easy on her.” Cherry smiled softly. “Oh god, this baby is coming out!” She breathed hard and cried out when her daughter was born.

Sage caught the little scarlet colored trolling. She had light green hair like her daddy. She was premature and itty bitty. Sage cleaned her and patted her back gently. “She’s so little.” She sighed in relief when the little one began to cry. She gently gave the baby to Cherry. “She should stay here a week just to make sure she does alright. She appears to be very early.”

Pearl glared at Morganite, before turning to look at the newborn. “She’s tiny.” She looked relieved when the baby began to cry. “Good job.” 

Morganite looked surprised. “Queen Pearl?”

Pistachio watched his newborn daughter and smiled softly. “I suppose we aren’t done raising kids after all.”

“Looks like it Pistachio.” Cherry cradled her daughter and took a deep breath. “I shouldn’t have gone off the contraceptives, but she is a welcomed surprise. Welcome to the world Blossom.” She looked at Morganite. “Yes, Queen Pearl. She’s in charge.”

Morganite backed away and went to sit by Spinel. She didn’t want to be eaten alive. Pearl had given her a look that could kill. “Spinel, they have a tiny queen.” She whispered.

“Morganite, you talk too much.” Spinel smiled softly. She could hear the newborn crying nearby. She was glad that the baby seemed alright.

“I’m going to kick Basil’s butt. He didn’t tell me. No one told me. All those spiritual trolls knew.” Cherry sighed and helped Blossom nurse. “Brats…”

“I’m just glad she’s alright.” Pistachio kissed Cherry and smiled at their baby. “I look forward to raising you baby girl.” He was a very proud daddy.


	8. The Future Alliance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Selene sits down with Basil and has an important conversation regarding the future of the colony.

“Basil?” Selene walked over to him as he left his flower pod. “Do you have a minute? I need to talk to you about the new trolls…”

“Oh god, please tell me we haven’t made a mistake.” Basil looked worried. “Come, we will go discuss this somewhere private.” He headed for his father’s bunker. He knew they wouldn’t be bothered in there.

“No Basil, you, Bask, and Pearl have not made a mistake.” Selene reassured as she followed her big brother towards the bunker. She knew why he chose that spot out of all the other possible meeting spots. He had been wary of the new trolls, and she didn’t blame him one bit. He was given little to no choice if these girls stayed, and they had not only accused him of lying, but they were also former mates with the troll whom killed their brother. An act that she knew crushed Basil’s heart. Basil was closely bonded to his brother and hadn’t been the same since Sky’s death.

Basil got into the bunker and walked towards the den. He groaned, noticing that Branch was down there too. “Dad, must you hide in here all the time?”

“I’m not hiding.” Branch smiled softly. He was sewing a hole in his backpack. “You sound tense son.”

“He’s worried. I’ve got important information to talk to him about.” Selene smiled and sat down in front of Branch. “You can hear about it too dad.” She pulled out a book and set it aside. “I’ve been documenting my recent dreams. They didn’t make sense at first, but after much calculation and running the possibilities with Serenity, I have concluded, we are going to be forming an alliance with a colony that lives several miles from here. This colony is where Alexandrite went for two years. The two females that have come to this village will become a bridge between this colony and their colony. We will be sharing stories, ideas, and families. Several of our family members will move there, and some of their families will move here.”

“Absolutely not!” Basil began to pace. “We have no idea if these trolls are spies, or what Alexandrite told them. We can’t form an alliance. They’re not trustworthy.” Basil protested. He was worried about the safety of his colony. He took his job as king seriously. He didn’t want anyone getting hurt.

“Basil is right Selene. This doesn’t sound safe. If we just form an alliance based off your calculations, there may be disaster. There must be cons with all this. It’s not going to be as easy as you are making it sound.” Branch looked wary. He wasn’t going to say it out loud, but the last time they prepared for a huge disaster, they were still not prepared for it. They had been very prepared for the earthquake, and everyone still suffered from it. He did recall Selene saying more then once that they would suffer no matter how they prepared, but he was still worried.

“I understand your concerns, but if I have learned anything from my dreams, I can’t control what happens. This will happen. Unlike the earthquake, I have not seen any cons to this. Please trust me. This will be a good thing, and it will be a great time for us to refresh our family blood. We have so many here that are related to you dad. We need this…” Selene was calm, even though Basil was tense, and Branch was concerned.

“So, I don’t get a choice.” Basil clenched his fists and groaned. “I hate change. I really fucking hate it!” He gritted his teeth. He was in pain. His back had been bothering him since the tree accident, and an impending storm had him in gobs amount of pain. It was making him cranky.

“Calm down Basil. We will get through this, just like everything else we have been through. We have our bogwolves. Not much will bother us with them around.” Branch finished his backpack and set it aside. “If a war happens, which it might before we become an alliance, we have what we need to defend ourselves. I say we prepare for it, just in case. We don’t know these trolls. We don’t know if they have healers, spirit trolls, seers, spirit manipulators like Indigo was, or memory erasers like Frances was.”

“Speaking of memory erasers. One of Frances’ children has that ability. I figured this out the other day when I was visiting Symphony…” Selene smiled softly. “Thank goodness Espresso is a good boy…”

“That may either be a blessing or a curse.” Basil sighed and crossed his arms. “Let me guess, you’ve no idea when this alliance will come to be?”

“I think it’s starting now actually.” Selene smiled softly. “Let’s keep talking nicely to these girls. I have a good feeling about this. It’s going to be alright.”

“I sure hope you’re right Selene.” Branch sighed softly. He looked worried.

“It better be alright. I’m going to protect my family.” Basil stretched out and sighed. He was not liking this pain in his back, but he hated admitting that he was in pain.

“Are you alright Basil?” Selene asked out of concern.

“I’m fine.” Basil snapped at her, before turning and headed out of the bunker. He headed for the flower pod. He wanted to take a nap and get off his feet.

Branch frowned and watched him go. “Not sure where my happy boy went, but I sure miss him…”

“He’s in pain dad. I can see it in his face. We need to watch him. He’s pushing himself.” Selene sighed softly. She was worried.

“I might have to sick Smidge on him. Sounds like he might need to have another surgery. Honey did warn us he might need a second one, because of the damage he had to his back two years ago.” Branch sighed softly. He hoped Basil made the right choices. He was worried about him.


	9. A Raging Brother

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beryl comes looking for his sister Morganite.

A couple of days later, two trolls made their way towards Basil’s colony. “I sure hope they’re alright.” A light red-orange glitter troll with light pink hair and mint green eyes looked around cautiously as she entered the territory. Her name was Peach, and she was looking for her sister Morganite. She was eighteen years old.

“She better be alright.” Beryl was an orange glitter troll with orange hair and orange eyes. His eyes were clouded over with cataracts. He was twenty-three years old. He was angry that Morganite left. He knew Spinel and Morganite were pregnant, and they had left with his niece, Diamond. “She could have at least left Diamond where it was safer. What the hell was she thinking?!”

“Oh my god! A bogwolf!” Peach screeched, grabbed his hand, and ran towards a tree. She climbed up it. She was scared.

Beryl climbed up with her. “Shh…” He smelled the air. “Be quiet…”

Bask was on top of Galaxy. He heard the screech and had her walk towards it. “Good girl. You smell the troll that screamed, don’t you?” He looked around when Galaxy stopped at a tree. “Hello?” He called out.

Peach watched and smiled softly. “It’s a tamed bogwolf.” She started to climb down. “Hello…”

Beryl quickly made his way down and got in front of Peach. “Who are you?!” He pulled out his knife and sneered.

“I’m King Bask. You’re in my territory. What are you doing here?” Bask watched them warily. He saw that Beryl was blind. He instantly reminded him of Basil with how protective he was.

“We’re looking for a dark magenta glitter troll, and a light pink glitter troll. One is notably pregnant. Have you seen them?” Peach asked. She was hopeful.

Beryl kept between Bask and Peach. He was wary of strangers.

“Yeah, but Spinel isn’t pregnant anymore. Morganite mentioned that an orange glitter troll named Beryl would come looking for them. Spinel’s baby was premature, so they have been staying in our medical pod until the baby gets stronger.” Bask smiled at them. He climbed down. “Follow me.” He headed for the main tree. He had a feeling Basil would kill him, but Beryl looked like he might flip out if he didn’t find his sister soon.

Peach looked worried but followed Bask. “Poor baby. That’s not fun. I hope he or she is alright.”

Beryl put his knife away and grabbed Peach’s hand and followed her. He could see shadows and light, but that was about it. He was very nervous but hid it. He didn’t want to show any signs of weakness. He wasn’t as trusting as Peach was.

Bask got to the medical pod and smiled when Creek came walking over. “Hey Creek, I believe this is Beryl? Didn’t get the female’s name.”

“I’m Peach.” Peach smiled at Creek.

“Someone is scared out of his glittery mind.” Creek eyed them and smiled softly when he saw Beryl’s cloudy eyes. “We have healers that can fix your eyes.”

“What?!” Beryl perked up a bit. “I haven’t been able to see since I was a kid…” He swallowed hard. “There is a catch, isn’t there?” He looked nervous.

Bask grinned and walked into the medical pod. “Morganite, I think I found your brother.”

“Beryl!” Morganite ran over to him and hugged him tightly. “I’m sorry I didn’t come back. Spinel had her baby early. He’s name is Quartz. He’s doing well. We can leave here in a couple more days if he continues to improve, but they recommend waiting a month before we walk back home.”

“A catch? Not unless you have something you want to give us. We’re all friendly here.” Creek liked all these new troll’s spirits. He was hoping they were not doing what Indigo did. He had told everyone to be careful.

Peach clung to her older sister and hugged her gently. “I was so worried about you…”

Beryl hugged Morganite and looked towards Creek. “So, explain this. I want to know how my eyes can be fixed.”

“Was your blindness caused by an illness, or injury?” Creek asked.

Morganite flushed and glared at Beryl. He hadn’t seen her for over a week, and his new focus was suddenly on the new trolls. She was unamused and a little jealous.

“It’s a family problem. Cataracts run on my dad’s side of the family.” Beryl was interested. He wanted to be able to see again.

“You would have surgery then. Honey knows more about it then I do. She’s our chief healer.” Creek smiled softly. He recalled Branch talking about Mama Goldie mentioning that cataracts were treatable with surgery. He was very sure that Mama Goldie would have told Honey about it.

“Surgery? Yeah, I think I will wait. I want to make sure this place is safe first.” Beryl turned to Morganite and put his hand on her belly. “Now, the question is, how are you doing butter bean? Are you being good for mama? Uncle Beryl was worried about you and your mama.” He felt a light flutter. He was glad that Morganite and her baby were alright.

“All five of us are just fine.” Morganite led him towards Spinel and gently gave him Quartz. “Quartz, this is uncle Beryl.”

Peach walked over and cooed. “Aww, so cute!”

Creek stepped in and sat by Cherry and Blossom. He wanted to make sure they were safe.

Bask stood by Creek and listened to the family quietly.

Beryl inspected the baby quietly with his hands. “Oh wow, he’s so tiny.” He gently gave him back to Spinel. “Are you still alive Spinny?”

“Don’t call me that.” Spinel grumbled. She hated when Beryl called her that.

“Someone’s cranky.” Peach reached into Morganite’s hair and pulled out Diamond. “You got bigger! How did you get so big in such a short time?!” She was so glad that Spinel, Morganite, and the babies were all OK.

Morganite smiled softly and glanced over at Bask and Creek. She was very glad that they let her brother in. She was impressed at how quickly Beryl calmed down too. She was starting to think that these trolls were not as scary as they all thought. Beryl was a good judge of character. It gave her some relief.


	10. Forming Trust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Basil is forced to stay around the new trolls.

A few days after Beryl arrived, he was being prepared for surgery. Honey had talked him into getting it done. Honey asked for Sprout and Sage’s help. She had never personally preformed the surgery, but she had read about it, and she had full confidence that she would be able to help Beryl. She gave him sedatives and took him back.

“Bask! Put me down!” Basil was being carried into the medical pod. He had woken up screaming in pain and Bask had had enough of watching his poor mate suffer. Basil was ticked that Bask wasn’t listening. Spinel and Morganite had only been in the village a week, and Beryl and Peach had only been there three days. He feared these new trolls.

Bask gently set Basil down on a medical pod bed. He looked up when Jelly walked over. “He cried out in pain this morning. He’s been in extra pain lately…”

Jelly checked Basil over and found that his back was inflamed. “Looks like you need that second surgery Basil. I’ll take you back. Honey, Sage, and Sprout are preforming a surgery now, and I’m sure they will be fine multitasking.”

“I don’t need surgery!” Basil snapped. He groaned and put his hand towards his back.

“You don’t need to suffer anymore.” Jelly gently picked him up and carried him to the back.

Bask watched her take Basil to the back. He sat down and sighed. He was going to wait a little bit, but he had a feeling he was going to need to go home and help bottle feed the three babies. He glanced towards Spinel and Cherry, thinking they could help with that, but he knew Basil would kick his butt if Spinel nursed the babies.

“Is he alright?” Peach walked over to Bask and sat down. She was worried about Beryl, but these trolls seemed nice.

“Don’t tell him anything Peach!” Spinel glared at Morganite, knowing she was thinking of going over to chat with him. She was not happy that Honey asked for them to wait two more days to make sure Quartz did alright.

Morganite was unusually quiet. She was nervous for her brother.

“He’s been in pain. He had an accident two and a half years ago while saving his niece. He broke his back and a few ribs. He keeps saying his fine, but they warned he might need another surgery. They fixed him, but there was a lot of broken bones. Honey was worried she missed something, but he couldn’t be under too long. He was three months pregnant at that time.” Bask sighed softly. “He hides his pain and fears. He had to when he was growing up.” He looked in Cherry’s direction. She was sleeping.

“He broke his back? That sounds awful.” Peach sat down by Bask and looked towards the back room. “Beryl is having his eyes fixed.”

“Honey will take good care of Beryl.” Bask smiled softly. “She is a great healer and has saved so many lives and has made so many lives better.”

“We don’t have healers in our village. That has to be a blessing. Having one that is.” Peach smiled softly.

“We have several. Honey, Sprout, Cumin, Nutmeg, Hickory, Sage, Destiny, Jelly, Coral, Bee, and Turnip…” Bask smiled softly. “They are great to have around. A blessing indeed.”

“I wish we had that at home.” Peach looked at her hands. There was more than once she had wished that someone was around to save family and friends from injury or illness.

A couple hours later, Sage came out with Beryl. She sat by his side and waited for him to come to. She wanted to make sure he stayed stable.

Shortly after that, Basil was brought back out. He was put next to Beryl so that both could be watched. Sprout sat by him and waited for him to come to. “Bask? He had bone spurs. No wonder he was in so much pain…”

Bask walked over and sat down at Basil’s side. “That sounds painful.” He took Basil’s hand and stroked it gently. “My poor mate…”

Pearl was there. She had brought Heaven, Horizon, and Sky. Spinel had agreed to let them nurse so that they didn’t have to deal with formula. Cherry had helped.

Beryl came to first. He cracked his eyes open and gasped. He could see that they were in a rainbow-colored flower pod. “Oh my god…”

Sage stood up and looked down at him. “Can you see?” She smiled at him. He looked shocked.

“I see a beautiful angel.” Beryl admired Sage. She was the prettiest troll he had ever seen, and he had seen a lot of trolls before the cataracts got bad.

Sage blushed. “You’re not dead.”

“So, what I see is not a post death spirit? I’m lucky then. You’re beautiful.” Beryl smiled at her.

“Oh god, he can see again, and the first thing he does is flirt with his nurse…” Spinel shook her head. She was so glad he was awake. She suddenly appeared a lot more relaxed. This had made her gain trust in them. They were nicer then she thought.

“I’m glad they were able to fix your eyes.” Peach walked over and took Beryl’s hand.

“You have gotten so tall Peach. Wow, you’ve become a pretty girl. I will have to keep the boys away.” Beryl teased. He smiled at Morganite. “I can’t believe I can see again….”

“Am I right next to Beryl?!” Basil had come to. He was no longer in pain. He groaned and rubbed his eyes. “Bask?! I’m going to kick your ass…”

“He had surgery too Basil. It’s alright.” Bask crawled into bed with him and pulled him close. He spooned him. He was glad he was alright.

“Pearl and the babies are in here too?!” Basil’s eyes were wide. “Are they safe?!” He looked worried.

“We are all still in one peace sweetheart.” Pearl put the three babies into her hair and walked over. She climbed into the bed carefully and sat down by his side. “Relax baby, these trolls are safe. It’s alright. Spinel even let the babies nurse off her.”

“She did?” Basil looked shocked. He was so going to kick their butts after he was more awake.

“Well Cherry may have helped a little too.” Bask smiled softly.

Basil closed his eyes and tried to get a good picture of what the presence of the room felt like. He realized that everything was peaceful in that room. He sighed softly and decided he would try giving them trust a try, but he still had a long way to go. He hated change, and it sounded like a lot was going to happen from here. He just hoped that it would happen without war or conflict.


	11. All The Colors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beryl gets to experience a world of colors.

Several hours later, Sage got ready to go home. Beryl had done a lot of flirting since waking up. He had made it very clear that he thought she was gorgeous. She kept glancing at him. When she was ready, she walked over and grabbed his hand. “You don’t have to stay here. Come stay the night at my flower pod?”

“I would be happy to.” Beryl got up off the bed and looked into her red and green heterochromia eyes. The more he looked at her, the prettier she seemed. He was on cloud nine. He loved that he could see everything, and with greater detail then he had ever seen. He had a huge grin on his face.

“Right…spend the night…” Spinel eyed him. She had a feeling it was going to be more then spending the night. “You two better behave. We’re leaving when Quartz gets bigger…”

Sage blushed and headed out the door. She was not going to admit what she had in mind. Beryl had had her flushed all afternoon. She wanted to claim him but wasn’t going to admit that out loud.

“Bye girls, I‘ll check on you a little later!” Beryl chuckled as he was dragged out the door. He looked around as he was led towards Sage’s flower pod. “This place is huge.” He grinned, seeing all the different colored trolls and flower pods. He liked this a lot.

“Sage?! Who’s that?!” Chamomile hurried over to them and looked up at Beryl. “Wow, you’re a handsome fella.”

“Mine. He’s mine.” Sage stopped and looked down at Chamomile. She eyed her challengingly. She didn’t want her snatching him. He was gorgeous.

“You’re the smallest troll I’ve ever seen…” Beryl smiled down at her. “But you’re very pretty. I love your colors.”

Chamomile was about to whap him with her hair, when he complimented on her beauty. She inched closer and looked up at him. “You think I’m pretty?”

Sage let Beryl’s hand go and frowned.

“I think your beautiful.” Beryl smiled at her. “Like a pretty rose.”

“Aww…you’re so sweet. I like you!” Chamomile grabbed his hand.

Sage looked down, feeling her heart break, even though they were not mates. She had been hoping he would take her. He had been flirting with her all afternoon.

“Hey, it’s the truth.” Beryl looked at Sage and frowned. “Hey, don’t be sad…” He had her look up. “It’s going to be alright. There is no need to be upset.” He reached over and gave her a gentle kiss. He knew she wanted him.

Chamomile watched with interest. She was hopeful, but it looked like Sage had him for sure.

Sage gasped when he kissed her. She was relieved. She pulled him close and returned the kiss. “I want you forever.” She looked into his orange eyes. “Please don’t break my heart.” She had definitely fallen hard and fast in love with him.

“Mm…I would never think of doing such a thing. You’re my angel.” Beryl kissed her again, and then looked down at Chamomile. “I think the yellow rose is interested in this.”

Chamomile squirmed, feeling flushed and warm. “I am…”

“She’s frisky.” Sage warned. “Can you handle feisty trolls?” She wouldn’t mind sharing so long as Chamomile didn’t steal him from her.

“I’ve had to deal with Spinel. She’s the friskiest troll I have ever met.” Beryl chuckled. “I think I can handle it.”

Chamomile smirked up at them and gave them googly eyes. It sounded like they were interested to. “I can have both of you?”

“Sounds like it Chamomile.” Sage giggled and motioned for them to follow. She headed for her flower pod. She didn’t want to wait any longer. She got to her home and opened the door. “Make yourselves at home.” She hurried to the bathroom. She wanted to take a quick bath.

Beryl stepped in and looked around. She had a very colorful flower pod. He walked into the kitchen and began looking at the types of food she ate. He was hoping to get a good idea of what she liked for later spoilings.

Chamomile quickly followed Sage into the bathroom and grinned when Sage took off her dress and panties. She took off her own dress and panties. She was very excited already. So much so that her panties were wet.

Sage turned and blinked, seeing Chamomile had not only followed her into the bathroom, but she was also nude and obviously very aroused. “I’m taking a bath first. I stink from work.” She giggled and stepped into the bath. She squeaked when Chamomile followed her into the tub. She flushed when Chamomile sat on her lap.

Chamomile grabbed the soap and rubbed some onto her hands. She reached over and began bathing Sage. She had a huge grin on her face. 

Sage groaned and began helping Chamomile clean up. She ran her hands along Chamomile’s body. She made sure to clean every detail. She spent a little extra time messaging her vulva. She was flushed and felt very aroused. “You’re not subtle…”

Chamomile moaned and reached down, cleaning Sage’s vulva as well. She was liking this a lot. She reached up and kissed Sage passionately.

Beryl heard moans. He walked into the bathroom and laughed. “You two started without me?!”

“Chammy couldn’t wait any longer.” Sage giggled and moaned when Chamomile kissed down her neck and chest. “Chamomile…”

Chamomile smirked and patted Sage’s cheek. “We continue on dry land…” She got out and squealed when Beryl picked her up. She smirked and looked up at him. “I didn’t dry off.” She was amused.

“It’s alright, you won’t be dry when I’m done anyway.” Beryl carried her towards where he assumed a bedroom was. He set her down in bed and went to get Sage.

Sage was starting to towel off, when Beryl came and picked her up. She giggled and hugged into him. “You’re not subtle.”

Chamomile fingered herself as she waited for Beryl to return. She groaned in delight when he returned. She had got a full view of his large manhood. It was erect and ready. “Oh, I like what I see…”

Beryl set Sage down and began kissing her hungrily. He was eager. He had never mated before. He reached his hand down and began messaging her vulva gently. “Oh…Chamomile got you all wet and excited.”

Sage returned the kiss and ran her hands along his sides. She was already very pleased. “She’s not the only one that has me all hot and bothered. I’ve been wet all afternoon.” She reached down and stroked his swollen member.

Chamomile bit her bottom lip and squirmed. She went under Beryl and took his tip into her mouth. She began suckling on it gently.

“Oh my god…” Beryl shivered in delight. Between Sage’s gentle stroke, and Chamomile’s tongue and lips, he was very pleased. He shivered in delight. He didn’t last long, before filling Chamomile’s mouth.

“Oh, we broke him, I think. His member is twitching.” Sage was flushed and pleased.

Chamomile didn’t swallow yet. She moved to Sage and began exchanging semen and saliva with her. She moaned when Beryl reached up and messaged her vulva.

Beryl watched them kiss. He licked his lips, and then positioned himself over Sage. He pushed his member into her and began thrusting gently. She was very tight. “Oh…Sage…”

Sage returned the kiss and swallowed some of the semen. She felt Beryl enter her. She gasped and moaned loudly. She was very pleased. “Oh my god, that feels so good.” She pulled Chamomile in for another kiss.

Chamomile kissed her back and shivered. She could feel Sage rock from Beryl’s thrusting.

Beryl reached over and began licking Chamomile’s vulva as he thrust into Sage. He loved how she tasted. He was very pleased that he got not one, but two very pretty ladies.

They took turns with each other and mated well into the night. They were very pleased with each other.


	12. Bee Careful

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One of the young trollings has a bad encounter with a bee.

The next morning, a scream echoed in the village. Sapphire had taken Cupcake for a walk, and Cupcake had chased and caught a bee. The insect had startled, and stung young Cupcake.

Sapphire removed the stinger and picked up Cupcake. She ran towards the medical pod. Bee sting poison was normally not fatal, but it did prove to be a nasty poison to Trolls because of their small size. She was very worried about her little sister.

Cupcake instantly didn’t feel good. She hugged into her older sister and cried into her chest. “I can’t breathe…” She began gasping for air. She was having an allergic reaction to the sting.

Sapphire got to the medical pod and set Cupcake down. “She can’t breathe!” She backed up and put her hands over her mouth. She was shaking and very worried about her sister. “Oh my god!” She began to sob.

Honey picked Cupcake up and took her to the back. She didn’t want Sapphire to freak out anymore then she already was. She grabbed medicine and gave it to Cupcake. She began to heal her and drew out the poison.

It was too late for poor little Cupcake. The reaction was so severe, that she didn’t survive it. She stopped breathing and passed away.

“Oh my god…” Honey frowned and wrapped her up in a blanket. She left her on a bed and stepped back out. “Sapphire, I need you to go get your parents, now.”

“Is Cupcake alright?!” Sapphire sniffled. She looked worried.

“Get your parents sweetheart. It’s very important that they come. All three of them.” Honey nudged her towards the entrance.

Cherry, Spinel, Morganite, and Peach watched the exchange with a concerned look on their faces. They had seen how sick Cupcake looked when she came in.

Sapphire nodded and hurried out the door. She ran home to get her parents. Once home, she told River, Candy, and Nano that they needed to go to the medical pod. “Cupcake was stung by a bee.” She rubbed her face of tears and hurried back out and towards the medical pod.

“Is she alright?!” Maximus followed his sister out the door and towards the medical pod. He looked worried.

River, Candy, and Nano followed her out the door. They looked worried.

“I don’t know. She was sick when I brought her in.” Sapphire went into the medical pod and waited for her parents.

Maximus caught up and stood by Sapphire. He looked worried.

River came in and frowned when she saw the look on Honey’s face. “Where is my baby girl?” She looked worried.

Honey led River, Candy, and Nano to the back. She gently picked Cupcake up. “I wasn’t able to save her. I’m so sorry.”

Candy gasped and put her hands over her mouth. “Oh my god no!” She began to sob and pulled River into a hug.

Nano’s eyes went wide. Cupcake was his firstborn. He burst into tears and hugged his wives.

River began to sob inconsolably. She took her baby girl and sat down on the bed. She held her close and shook. “Not my Cupcake…”

Sapphire could hear her parents crying and had overheard Honey. She fell to her knees. She began to cry into her hands. “Oh my god, I didn’t get her here in time.” The twelve-year-old was shaking.

Maximus felt his heart sink. He snuggled into Sapphire and cried with her. Their baby sister was gone.

Peach got up from her seat and walked over to the upset trollings. She opened her arms in invitation. She didn’t want to frighten them, but she was sad for them. She had overheard what happened. “I’m very sorry…”

Sapphire moved over to Peach and hugged into her chest. She cried and leaned into her. “It’s my fault.”

Maximus stayed glued to Sapphire. He was shaking and crying. He loved his little sister so much. His little heart was broken.

Peach held them and ran her hands through their hair. She felt her heart break for them. Losing a sibling was devastating. She knew how much that hurt.

A few hours later, everyone gathered to bury Princess Cupcake. They had a moment of silence to pray for the little five-year-old. She had died suddenly, and it broke their hearts. Among them, were the new trolls, including Spinel, who insisted she come to the funeral to honor the fallen child. They all felt bad for them. It was clear how close they were as family and friends. They were sad for them.


	13. Going Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spinel, Morganite, and Peach head home.

“Don’t worry. We will come back. I need to make sure my family knows we are all alright. If we don’t do that, our parents and loved ones will be scared, and we don’t want to do that.” Spinel had Quartz tucked in her hair. It had been a week and a half since they had arrived in the village. She knew if they waited any longer, her parents would come searching for them. She didn’t want them making the trip alone. “I like it here. We will be back after our families know where we went.”

“Do you promise?” Sapphire had already glued herself to Peach. Tears filled her eyes. She didn’t want them to go. She had been clingy since her sister died just three days earlier.

“Of course, sweetheart. I wouldn’t abandon my new best friend.” Peach gave her a hug and held her when she started to cry. She was starting to not want to leave, but Beryl was already staying, and it wasn’t going to look good if she didn’t at least check in with her own parents. She had barely turned eighteen. She knew how protective her parents were.

“I don’t want you to go.” Sapphire sobbed and held onto her. “Please…”

“I have to Sapphire, but don’t worry. I will be back. I promise you.” Peach grabbed a tissue from her hair and dried her face. “It’s alright sweet girl. Please don’t cry…”

Maximus walked over and hugged into Sapphire and Peach. “Please don’t break Sapphire’s heart.” He looked very worried. Cupcake’s death had been hard on them all.

Sapphire turned and cried into Maximus. She didn’t want her new friend to go. Her heart was broken from losing her baby sister. She was scared.

“I won’t break your hearts.” Peach gave them each one more hug, before walking over to Spinel and Morganite. “We will be right back. We promise.”

“Yes, sweet little ones. We will be right back. It’ll take a week, alright?” Spinel looked at Morganite. She didn’t want to go, but they had to.

“As fast as possible.” Morganite nodded in agreement.

“You three are not going alone.” Branch walked over with Galaxy right behind him. “I’ve got a group going with you on Galaxy. They’re going to make sure you make it there safely and make it back safely.” He looked up at the group that had already climbed onto Galaxy. They included Onyx, Jet, Brook, Kale, Violet, Yarrow, Gardenia, Juniper, Oak, Sassafras Junior, and Turnip.

“Thank you…” Spinel helped Morganite onto the bogwolf, and then climbed up. She reached down and helped Peach onto Galaxy. “We will come back. I promise.”

“Don’t worry dad, I’ll take care of them.” Sassafras Junior waved to them and had Galaxy walk towards the direction of their village. “Just tell me where we need to go, and I’ll have Galaxy go that way.”

Branch watched them go, and then turned to Sapphire and Maximus. He picked them both up and headed for the bunker. “It’s alright little ones. Grandpa is going to go tell you a story. It’s going to be alright.” He reassured them. He knew they were hurting. He was especially worried about Sapphire. He was hoping that extra grandpa time would help them out. “Creek?” He called him as he walked by. “Let’s go read a story.”

“Of course.” Creek followed Branch. He was heartbroken that Cupcake was gone, and very worried about their grandbabies. He wanted to make sure they were taken care of. It was never easy to lose a loved one.


	14. Taking Care Of Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angel finds out big news.

Angel was on her way to visit Robin’s grave. It had been five weeks since he had passed away. She set a flower on his grave and pulled Sparrow out of her hair. “We both miss you Robin. I can’t believe it’s been a month since we lost you. I’m taking good care of your baby boy…” Tears filled her eyes and ran down her cheeks. She hugged Sparrow close and sniffled.

Sparrow held onto his mama. He didn’t like when she was sad.

Creek walked over to Sky’s grave. He set a flower on his grave, and then walked over to Cupcake’s grave and set a flower on her grave. He had made sure they were buried close to each other. “I miss you both so much. Two very sweet souls, taken too soon.” He teared up and sniffled. He grabbed a tissue out of his pocket and dried his face. He took a moment to say a silent prayer, before turning towards the sound of Angel’s sniffles. He frowned and walked over to her. He cringed, noticing she was pregnant. “Angel?” He looked very concerned. The grief-stricken mama didn’t need extra stress. He was worried about her.

Angel looked up at Creek and sniffled. “Hi Creek…” She got up, keeping little Sparrow pressed to her chest. “What can I do for you?”

Sparrow looked over at Creek, but kept a firm hold of his mama.

“We need to go have a talk. It’s very important…” Creek gently took her hand and led her towards Basil’s home. Once there, he knocked on the door.

Angel looked confused but walked with him. “Important? Can’t we talk about it out here?”

Bask answered the door and smiled. “Hi Creek, hi Angel. What can I do for you today?”

“I need a babysitter. It’s very important.” Creek gently took Sparrow out of Angel’s arms and gave him to Bask. “I’ll come pick him up in a day or two. I know it sounds like a long time, but Angel is going to need some alone time.”

Angel’s eyes went wide. She was really confused now. “What’s going on Creek?!”

Sparrow looked up at Bask and then at his mama. He burst into tears and began to sob. He reached towards Angel. He wanted to be with his mama. “Mama!”

“It’s alright baby boy. We’re going to go play a game, alright?” Bask took him inside and closed the door. He knew it was important if Creek asked for a sitter.

“I’ll tell you in a minute Angel. I want you sitting down.” Creek led her towards his home. Once in his flower pod he looked at his kids. “Go to brother Basil’s please. Come back tomorrow.” He watched them leave.

Branch watched their kids go and walked over to Creek. “What’s going on?”

“He won’t tell me!” Angel was flushed and angry. She was losing her patience.

Creek sat her down on the couch and took her hand. “Angel, are you aware you’re pregnant?”

“What?!” Angel burst into tears and began crying into her hands. “Oh god, he won’t get to meet his last child. It’s not fair!” She began to shake and hugged into Creek.

Smidge heard that and came over with her hand over her mouth. She looked worried.

Branch’s eyes widened. He sandwiched Angel between him and Creek. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry Angel.” He looked at Creek and Smidge. “You can move in here. You shouldn’t be alone. I won’t allow it knowing you’re carrying my brother’s child.”

Creek nodded in agreement. He looked at Smidge, hoping she would allow it.

“I agree. You shouldn’t be alone right now.” Smidge grabbed a tissue and wiped Angel’s face gently.

Penelope came in with fabric in her arms. She walked towards her sewing room to set it down. She hurried back out, hearing sobs from Angel. “What’s going on?”

“I’m pregnant! Robin won’t ever meet him or her. It’s not fair!” Angel didn’t let Creek go. She was shocked and upset.

“She’s moving in. It won’t be safe for her to have this baby alone.” Creek ran his hand through Angel’s two-toned hair.

“Aww…don’t cry. This is a blessing. He gave you one more precious gift. There is no reason to be sad. This is great news. He would be very proud.” Penelope rubbed her back gently. She looked worried.

“That’s right, this is his last gift to you. He didn’t want you and Sparrow to be alone. He wanted you to be taken care of. That’s what family does.” Smidge took Angel’s hand and stroked it. “We all take care of each other.”

“We all got this. It’s going to work out Angel. We will help make sure if it. We will get through the hard times like we have done in the past and will continue to do in the future.” Branch put his hand on her cheek. “I promised my brother if anything ever happened to him, I would see to it that you’re taken care of. I plan on keeping my promise. He said he would do the same for me if anything ever happened to me, Creek, Smidge, or Penelope. We’re protective of each other.”

Angel looked up at them and sniffled. She looked at Branch when he put his hand on her cheek. She put her hand on his hand and leaned into it slightly. She closed her eyes and sniffled. “Thank you….”

Creek smiled at his mates. He was glad they all agreed that Angel needed to be safe. He put his hand on her belly. “We keep our promises little one. It’s alright, you’re going to be safe.”

Smidge had a big grin on her face. She already planned to spoil Angel throughout her pregnancy and beyond. Angel had taken great care of the colony for eight years. She only deserved the best. “Is there anything Robin use to do, that we can accommodate for you?”

Branch snorted. He knew how often Angel and Robin mated. He had a feeling Angel would not have a filter when she answered the question. He walked to the kitchen to make Angel a snack. He knew she was going to need all the calories she could get. She had lost a little bit of weight due to the stress of the last month and not eating right. He wanted that baby healthy.

Penelope tapped her chin. “I already have a quilt planned for that baby. He or she will need one. It’s going to start getting cold when he or she arrives.”

Angel looked down at Smidge. She blushed and looked down at Creek’s hand. She put her hand on his hand and sighed. “Robin and I spent several nights a month in bed, making the bed rock. I miss it.”

Creek smiled softly. He could understand missing that. He had gone three years without a mate when he and DJ Suki had broken up. He had spent a good majority of that time bonding with his kids. “You’re not subtle.”

“Oh, I think we can fix that.” Smidge smirked and looked at Creek. “Creek and Branch need some cheering up too, so maybe a little fun time will get all three of your minds off the yucky stuff.” She reached up and patted Angel’s cheek softly. “I’ll take care of it sweetheart. That is an easy accommodation.” She smirked and looked towards Branch. “Branch! Get the bunker ready!” She got up and headed for the bedroom.

“Seriously Smidge?! She just found out she’s pregnant! We just told her we would take care of her. That’s a lot of information to take in, all on one day…” Branch sighed and grabbed her. He gave her a whack in the butt, before heading out towards the bunker. He wasn’t going to turn down happy fun time, but this was a little faster then he liked. Especially after the sort of loss they had endured.

Penelope giggled and followed Branch towards the bunker. Smidge also followed.

“Are you sure this is what you want?” Creek looked concerned. He knew how much grief clouded the brain. He had made some bad decisions after losing his own family members.

“I think so.” Angel nodded and hugged into him. “Thank you for making sure I got taken care of Creek. I’m sorry for snapping at you. I was scared.” She got up and took his hand. “I’m worried, but Penelope is right. This is a blessing. I know that I’m going to be alright now.” She reached over and kissed him. She liked it. She pulled him closer and ran her hand through his hair. He was returning the kiss, which she liked a lot.

Creek returned the kiss happily. He soon let her go and smiled. “Mm…we better get going. Smidge will have our butts on a platter if we start here instead of the bunker.” He took her hand and headed out of the flower pod. He closed the door, and then headed for the bunker. He opened the door and helped her inside. He closed the door and locked it. He made his way down a set of stairs. They all had a special room just for mating. It gave them privacy away from everyone. He opened the door and laughed when he saw Smidge sprawled out on the bed, nude and masturbating. “Well then…”

“She has absolutely zero patience.” Branch came into the room with fruit leather. He put a piece over Smidge’s crouch. He smirked and set the other pieces on the coffee table. He walked over to Angel and looked into her eyes. “Are you sure about this?”

Angel was flushed. She nodded and reached in. She began kissing Branch passionately.

“I bet hormones have her extra horny. Poor girly is probably all hot and bothered.” Penelope came in. She was already nude as well. She smirked when she saw the fruit leather. She reached down and began making work of it, making sure to lick and tease Smidge’s snatch as she ate it.

“Oh my god girls.” Creek groaned and rubbed his member through his pants. It was starting to swell. He took off his pants and crawled into bed with them. He was about to push his length into Penelope, when Branch grabbed him by the leg.

“Oh no, you’re mine.” Branch pulled him to the edge of the bed and grabbed onto Creek’s butt. He grinned, feeling Angel pull his pants down. “Oh…teamwork. I like this.” He pushed into Creek and moaned in pleasure. He began thrusting into Creek happily.

Angel helped Branch out of his pants, and then began to undress. She had never mated with females before. She looked over at Penelope and Smidge as Penelope made work of her snatch. She bit her bottom lip and rubbed herself gently. She looked at Creek and Branch next. She groaned and moved so she was below Creek as Branch made work of him. She reached down and began suckling on Creek’s member gently.

Smidge moaned and grabbed onto Penelope’s three-toned hair. She was very pleased. She looked over at Branch, Creek, and Angel as they began getting busy. She was amused and pleased. It had been years since they had done a fivesome. 

For the next several hours, all five of them tangled up with each other and pleased each other. By the end of the night, they were exhausted, pleased, and happy that all five of them were now one big happy family.


	15. Returning As Promised

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spinel, Morganite, and Peach return to the village.

A few days later, as promised, Spinel, Morganite, and Peach returned on top of Galaxy. Sassafras Junior was with them, but no one else who had gone with them had returned. Instead, they had several new trolls with them. Sassafras had Galaxy stop in front of the medical pod. He helped a twenty-year-old lavender troll with purple hair and purple eyes get off Galaxy. He led him into the medical pod. He had a concerned look on his face. “Honey? Are you here?” He called out and smiled when she walked over. “This is Gap. He was in a nasty accident when he was five years old. It caused brain damage that left him blind and mute. I was wondering if you could fix it?”

“I’ll see what I can’t do.” Honey helped Gap onto a bed and inspected him closely. “I won’t promise you that I can fix it Gap, but I will try for you, alright?” She looked at Sassafras Junior. “Do you know what happened?”

Gap nodded and put his hand up to her face. He noticed she had wrinkles. He smiled softly. He looked hopeful.

“He fell out of a tree. They said he was lucky he didn’t die.” Sassafras Junior gave Gap a gentle pat on the back. “That’s the first time I have seen you smile Gap. She’ll take good care of you.” He headed outside to make sure his older brother didn’t kill any of the other new trolls. He squealed when Basil tackled him onto the ground.

“I’m going to beat the shit out of you and then kill you. You stole my bogwolf!” Basil sneered at Sassafras Junior and raised his hand up. He widened his eyes when Spinel grabbed his arm, picked him up, and slammed him to the ground.

Spinel sat on Basil and looked down into his eyes. “Oh no, you’re not beating him up. He kept his promise; therefore, he is now under my protection, right along side the protection of Morganite, Peach, and Beryl.

Basil smirked, grabbed Quartz, gave him to Morganite, and then grabbed her arms. He moved his feet so that he got a hold of her. He flipped her, and then rolled over and pinned her down. He smirked and held her arms down. “You’re not match for me. I’ll take you down, then Peach, then Morganite, and then Beryl. It’ll be easy.” He sounded confident.

Spinel flushed and squirmed under his weight. “No hurting! My village members are watching!” She was not amused.

“They are?” Basil smirked and moved so they were face to face. “Then they might enjoy this…” He reached down and began kissing her.

“Oh my god! Basil! Get the hell off her!” Bask laughed and pulled his crazy mate off her.

Spinel scrambled to her feet, and then slapped Basil hard. “That was rude!” She glared at him, and then stormed away.

Morganite tried not to giggle. She followed her angry mate. She knew that kind of stuff was what Spinel liked in bed. Spinel was likely not angry at all.

“That’s alright, I don’t like glitter anyway!” Basil laughed and listened to her storm off. “She enjoyed every minute of that. Trust me.” He had read her emotions, and she had liked that, even if she hadn’t admitted it.

“You’re a brat.” Bask smacked his butt. “Go check on our wife. I’m going to take care of everyone before you scare them all off.

“I know Spinel. She likes that kind of thing.” Peach looked around for Sapphire. She didn’t see her, so she made her way towards her parent’s flower pod. She knocked on the door and smiled when River answered the door. She gave River a hug. “I’m glad to see you’re in one piece.”

“Thank you for keeping your promise.” River hugged her back and smiled. “Sapphire was scared.”

Sapphire heard Peach. She got up and ran over to her. She clung to her and hugged her tightly. “Thank god you came back! I was so worried…”

Back at Galaxy, another troll climbed down. It was Spinel’s little brother, Chase. He was a red orange glitter troll with yellow hair, and brown eyes. He was eighteen years old. He had a huge grin on his face. He liked Basil already. It was so good to see someone else give his sister a hard time. “Hi, my name is Chase. I’m Spinel’s brother.” He shook hands with Bask. “Thank you for taking good care of my family.”

“You’re very welcome Chase. I’m King Bask. The troll who was on top of your sister was King Basil. Our wife’s name is Queen Pearl. We take care of each other here. We were more than happy to help.”

“Nice to meet you. That’s cool that there are two kings here.” Chase began looking around. He had a huge grin on his face. 

Bask helped the next troll off Galaxy. She was a twenty-three-year-old turquoise colored female troll with yellow and green two-toned hair. Her named was Fantasy.

Fantasy looked nervous. “Did I hear that the troll on Spinel was king? He’s not subtle.” She looked around. She couldn’t believe how relaxed they all seemed, even though no one knew them. “I’m Gap’s older half-sister. I came to make sure he was taken care of.” She headed towards the medical pod. She was worried about him. She went inside and frowned when she didn’t see him anywhere in the room.

Bask followed Fantasy into the medical pod. “If he was sick, Honey probably took him to the back.”

“He had brain damage from a fall when he was five. I watched the entire thing. It’s a miracle he survived. He was unable to walk for months after the accident.” Fantasy watched the back door. “When we heard that Beryl’s eyes got fixed, my mom wanted him to come here and maybe get fixed too. Your healer that came with everyone said that he wasn’t as confident as his grandma was with sort of stuff. I think he said her name was Honey…”

“If Honey can fix him, she will.” Bask smiled and sat down. “Have a seat. She’s probably doing surgery on him. It’s going to take time.” He pulled his backpack off and pulled out a cookie. “Are you hungry?”

“No thank you…” Fantasy sat down and fidgeted. She was worried.

A couple of hours later, Honey came out with Sprout. She sat down and sighed tiredly. She was starting to feel her age. Not that she would admit it.

Sprout had Gap in his arms. He set him down in a bed. “Bask? He had some damage to his brain. We did a few things, but there is no guarantee that he will be able to talk or see again. We can’t make his lost brain matter come back.”

“We will see if what you have done helped. Thank you for trying Sprout.” Bask looked at the young troll. “He’s a cutie. Even if he can’t see or speak, someone will want him as part of their lives. I’m sure of it.”

“Thank you for trying.” Fantasy walked over to her brother and took his hand. “I love you little brother.”

“You’re his sister? You look nothing like him.” Honey smiled softly. She knew it didn’t matter though. Genetics were sometimes random, and she could have looked like one parent, while he looked like the other parent.

“Well, we are half siblings. We have the same mom.” Fantasy smiled softly. She crawled into the bed and held him. “I’ve been taking care of him since he turned eighteen. It hasn’t been easy for mom. She looks way older then she is.” She ran her hand through Gap’s hair. She was worried about him.

Gap began to come to. He groaned and cracked his eyes open. He startled, seeing color and shapes. Everything was very blurry, but it was more then before he went into surgery.

Fantasy sat up and smiled at him. “Can you see Gap?”

Gap nodded and tried to talk. He sighed, realizing that he was still unable to talk. He rubbed his eyes and blinked a few times. He was still groggy. He hugged into Fantasy and smiled. He was glad his vision had improved considerably. As his eyes focused, he was able to see more, but it was fuzzy. He let go of Fantasy and signed that it wasn’t as good as when he was a little boy, but it was better than nothing at all.

“We can make him some glasses. There are a couple trolls around here that wear glasses.” Sprout smiled at them. He was glad that the surgery was semi-successful.

“Thank you so much for helping him.” Fantasy held Gap close and smiled. “It’s going to be alright Gap. This is way better then being completely blind.” She had a huge smile on her face. She was extremely grateful for what they have done.

Bask watched on and smiled. It looked like they had another family from the other village that had gained their trust. He was glad. He hoped that the happiness would continue.


	16. A Protective Mate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Basil shows just how protective he is of his Pearl.

“Basil, I just had a contraction.” Pearl put her hand on her belly. “It’s time to go to the medical pod daddy.” She breathed through the next contraction. She knew this baby was normal sized and was going to be too large for her to have naturally.

“Now?! I haven’t had a chance to meet all the new trolls yet…” Basil looked nervous. Bask was still at the medical pod. He had just got back from checking on him. There were two new trolls in the medical pod. He was worried about them being near Pearl and the new baby.

“Yes, Basil. Now…” Pearl looked up at him and sighed. “Let’s go.” She took his hand and walked over to the cradle. She began handing him the three babies. “I don’t want to die.”

Basil put Horizon, Sky, and Heaven into his hair. He gently picked up Pearl and held her close. “Come on kids, let’s go.” He headed towards the medical pod. He was very nervous. All of his kids followed him, since the only ones old enough to be alone was Fairy, Sunshine, and Chili, and Basil didn’t want them alone right now anyway because of all the new trolls.

Pearl buried her face into his chest and groaned. “Oh god…” She breathed hard.

Basil got them all into the medical pod and walked over to Honey. “It’s time.” He kept a hold of Pearl. He wasn’t putting her down. He could sense Gap and Fantasy’s spiritual presences.

“Give her to me Basil.” Honey went to gently take Pearl from Basil, but he had a good hold of her. “Basil…” She smiled softly. “She needs surgery daddy. You need to let her go.”

Bask walked over and smiled softly. “It’s alright daddy. Let her go.”

“Let me the hell go Basil!” Pearl pushed on him and cried out on pain.

Basil frowned and swallowed hard. He let her go. “Please be safe.” His heart was pounding hard in his chest. He sat down by the door to the surgery room once Honey took her back. He swallowed hard and snuggled with Fairy when she snuggled into him.

“It’s alright daddy. Mommy is in good hands.” Fairy smiled and cuddled close.

“Is she alright?” Fantasy walked over. She looked worried.

“She’s in labor. The baby is too big, so she is having planned surgery.” Bask sat down by Basil and rubbed his back. He knew how protective Basil was of both of them. A little more so to Pearl because of her stature and disability.

Basil shot a glare towards Fantasy. “I don’t know who you are, but your way to close to my children. Back off!”

Fairy looked up and tried to get a good sense of Fantasy’s spirit. “It’s alright daddy, she is safe.” She smiled and walked over to Fantasy. “I’m Fairy.”

“Nice to meet you Fairy.” Fantasy didn’t get any closer. She understood the desire to protect family. She was the same way with her little brother. “My name is Fantasy.”

“It’s alright Basil. Our babies are just fine. I’ve been here with Fantasy for the last three hours. She wouldn’t harm them. She has her own family in here that she wants to protect.” Bask reassured.

“That family member appears to be an adult. I’ve got babies and a toddler that are vulnerable.” Basil was tense. He stood up when he heard the cries of a newborn baby. He put his ear to the door and smiled. “There’s my little bean.” He tried to open the door, but it was locked. “Darn…”

“Daddy has no patience.” Fairy giggled and pulled a jar out of her hair. She winked towards Fantasy, and then put some jelly on her hand. She walked over to Basil and put it on his bare belly.

“Oh my god, child…” Bask facepalmed. “Your timing is awful…”

Chili smirked and pulled a bag out of his hair. He pulled out down feathers and blew them onto Basil. He giggled and ran around him. “Daddy is a bird! Daddy is a bird! Run everyone run!”

Sunshine put her hand over her mouth and giggled.

Basil blinked a few times and groaned. “What am I going to do with you two?” He picked up Harmony and headed for the bathroom to clean up.

Honey came out with Pearl and the newborn baby. She set them down in a bed and covered up Pearl. “That baby boy looks just like his father.”

Bask came over, thinking it would be a yellow baby, but this little one was a mini version of Basil. He chuckled and caressed his little cheek. “Hello Basil Junior.”

Fantasy walked a little closer to peek at the baby. “He’s so pretty.” She kept a good distance though, knowing that Basil wouldn’t want her close.

Basil came back out and set Harmony down by Pearl. He picked up his newborn son and ran his hand along his body. “A little boy. Did I overhear that he looks like me?”

“Yep, he is a spitting image of you.” Bask chuckled. “Like a little Junior.”

“I bet he will act just like Pearl, because he can.” Basil chuckled and gently set the little guy by Pearl. He carefully gave Horizon, Sky, and Heaven to Bask, and then crawled into bed and spooned Pearl. He wanted her to have him right there when she woke back up. “You did a good job mama.”

Bask put the babies in his hair, and then picked up the newborn baby and cradled him. “We’re going to be busy.”

“Are those triplets?” Fantasy had seen the exchange with the older babies.

“No, one of them is my niece. Her father was murdered. I’m nursing her until she is weaned.” Basil held Pearl close. “I’ve got help feeding now that Pearl has milk…”

“I heard about the four murders. What Alex did was awful…” Fantasy shook her head. She had been suspicious of Alex the entire two years he lived in their village.

Pearl began to come to. She groaned and put her hand on her head. “Boy or girl?”

“You had a boy. He looks just like me.” Basil had a huge grin on his face.

“He won the genetic lottery.” Bask chuckled and kissed Pearl gently. He gently gave their son to her. “He’s adorable.”

“Basil Junior.” Pearl smiled and held her son close.

“I thought so too.” Bask chuckled and ran his hand though the baby’s two-toned hair.

“So, we are naming him after me?” Basil looked proud.

“Sounds like it.” Pearl smiled and closed her eyes. “Thank you for this special gift Basil. I love you so much.” She snuggled close to her newborn. She was very happy that everything went as smooth as possible. Basil was stressed out enough already.


	17. How Dare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Habanero has a conniption fit when he finds a couple a little too close to Sky’s grave.

Not long after Pearl and Basil’s baby was born, Spinel and Morganite gave Diamond and Quartz to Peach to babysit. They looked around for a place to snuggle, since they didn’t have a flower pod yet. Spinel was still hot and bothered no thanks to what Basil had done earlier that morning.

“How about here? It’s a nice area.” Morganite had found a flower patch. It was still close to the tree, but far enough away that they would have some privacy.

“Yeah, this will do.” Spinel grinned and grabbed Morganite. She pulled her close and began kissing her passionately.

“Mm…” Morganite groaned and ran her hand though Spinel’s maroon colored hair.

“I love you…” Spinel gently pinned Morganite down. She wanted to play rough, but she wasn’t going to knowing that Morganite was almost four months pregnant. She reached down and messaged Morganite’s vulva gently. She moved so she was over Morganite, and her rear end faced Morganite’s face. She reached down and began licking her clitoris gently.

“I love you too.” Morganite moaned and reached up. She couldn’t move her arms, but she had her tongue. She began licking up fluids from Spinel’s vulva. She shivered when Spinel began sucking on her tender bits. “Oh my god…”

“What the fuck are you doing in my flower bed?!” Habanero came running over. He was still gray from his loss and was pissed that a couple of females were loving on each other in the flower bed he placed right by Sky’s grave. He was livid. “Get the hell off!”

“Go the fuck away! We won’t hurt your precious flowers…” Spinel kept Morganite pinned and didn’t move. “We’re busy…”

Morganite was flushed. She looked over at Habanero. She recalled seeing him before at the funeral. “He looks pissed.”

“Get out of that god damn flower bed! Do you have any respect?! You’re mating right by a grave!” Habanero snapped. He pulled Spinel off of Morganite and glared at her. “Don’t make me ask again!”

Spinel frowned and got up. She looked around and flushed, realizing their graveyard was discreet and beautifully decorated. Not like what they had at her home village at all. “Oh, I didn’t realize this was a cemetery.”

Morganite got up and blushed. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry.” She dusted her glitter skin off and looked down at Habanero. “You’re so little. How old are you?”

“I’m none of your business years old.” Habanero sneered and crossed his arms.

“Cranky much? What’s your name?” Spinel crossed her arms. She was wary considering Morganite was pregnant.

“Frisky…are all the dwarf trolls here like you and Pearl?” Morganite cocked her head slightly.

“My name is Habanero. Considering Pearl is my sister, yes we’re a lot alike.” Habanero grumbled and began checking his flowers. He was worried that one got smushed, but they all seemed to be alright. He picked one and walked over to Sky’s grave. He gently placed it next to a withering flower. He took the old one off and put it in his pocket for later disposable. Tears threatened. His heart still ached.

“Your name suits your attitude.” Spinel snorted and chuckled. She watched him with the flower, and then got quiet. She frowned and looked down when she realized they were by a grave of one of his loved one. It was no wonder he had become so upset.

Morganite put her hands over her mouth. She frowned and moved closer to him. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know we were right by a grave. Who is it?”

Habanero broke down and began to cry. “He was my mate.” He cried into his hands. “I lost two precious loved ones in less than three years. When I lost Sky, I lost a piece of me right along with him.”

Spinel cringed. She understood how much that hurt. She missed Alexandrite. She was kicking herself now for being so mean. “Deep apologies…”

“Are you all alone?” Morganite moved closer and pulled him into a gentle hug.

“Alone as in widowed? Yes, it is just me and the kids now…” Habanero cried into her glittery skin.

“You have kids?” Spinel swallowed hard and joined in the hug. “I’m so sorry…”

“Yeah, I have eleven kids. Two came out of my own loins, eight from my mates, and one is adopted…” Habanero sniffled and rubbed his face with a tissue. “My brother in law is nursing my youngest. She was born the day Sky died. She could have easily died with him…” He was shaking upset.

“He died in child birth?” Morganite frowned and held him.

“Morganite…” Spinel sighed. “You’re asking too many questions. He’s hurting…”

“No, he was murdered. My own brother shot him in the chest with an arrow. It damaged several blood vessels and lung tissue. It was not survivable…” Habanero took a deep breath and tried to calm down. He was really upset. “Bubbles died in childbirth two and a half years. Foam was healthy and large…”

“Oh god…” Spinel made a realization that Habanero was one of the trolls affected by Alexandrite. An overwhelming feeling of guilt filled her. “I’m so sorry…”

“That’s awful…” Morganite frowned and rubbed his back. “What your natural colors?” She was very curious.

“I’m blood red, with white hair.” Habanero was grateful for the subject change. “I don’t think I’ll ever be able to go back. Sky and I were very closely bonded. We knew each other since we were babies…”

Spinel held Habanero. She felt so bad for him.

“Red is a pretty color.” Morganite sat down and pulled him into her lap. “Don’t give up on your colors. Someway, some how you will get those colors back.” She was trying so hard to be optimistic.

Habanero didn’t look certain. He missed Sky so much. Tears ran down his cheeks as he snuggled into Morganite. He listened to the sound of her heart beat. He missed being this close to his loved ones.


	18. Something In The Water

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Branch’s family finds out some unexpected news.

A month had gone by since the new trolls had come to the village. Everyone had settled in well and now all had their own flower pods. Gap had a pair of glasses and had decided to give living on his own a try. He had a flower pod right next to his sister’s flower pod, just in case he needed anything. He was extremely grateful that the only problem he still had was he couldn’t talk. It was way better then the way his life was before.

Sage was on her way to work. She had been feeling weird. She brushed it off as just being extra tired from too much fun in the bedroom. She had recently figured out that Chamomile was pregnant, and had been spoiling her, right along side of Beryl. She was excited. She got to the medical pod and went to work on folding clean blankets.

Creek was on his way to the medical pod. His four mates were with him. He was deeply concerned for Penelope. He sensed a new life within her, and he was worried about her. She was forty years old, and he wanted to confirm pregnancy. She was going to need extra care to make sure she made it to term and had her baby safely.

“You forgot to take your contraceptives, didn’t you?” Branch was worried, but not completely surprised. Honey had Jubilee when she was forty-five years old. Forty was very possible.

Penelope was flushed and not feeling too hot. She had an upset stomach. “Yeah, I forgot….”

Angel was not surprised. They had been very busy. She had a small smile on her face.

Smidge shook her head. “I take mine every morning before breakfast. I don’t want any more kids, and until I hit menopause, I’m not taking chances…”

Creek stepped in and put his hand over his mouth. He groaned and ran to the toilet. He began getting sick into the toilet.

“Oh god…” Penelope groaned and put her hand over her mouth. “Why is he getting sick?” She gagged and grabbed a trashcan. She began getting sick.

Sage heard them getting sick. Her stomach turned as she walked towards the bathroom. “Are you alright Creek?” She put her hand on him and widened her eyes. “Oh, wow…” She put her hand over her mouth. “Creek? Aren’t you turning forty-nine soon?”

Branch looked alarmed. He rubbed Penelope’s back as she got sick.

“Yeah, I’m turning forty-nine in a few weeks.” Creek flushed the toilet and went to wash his hands. He was confused as to why she would bring that up when he had just got done being sick. He didn’t think his age had anything to do with an upset stomach.

“You’re going to need to be monitored. You’re the oldest pregnant troll I have ever heard of.” Sage could smell the vomit. She swallowed, feeling a wash of nausea. She gagged, and then got sick onto the bathroom floor. Her eyes went wide. She moved to the toilet to finish. She had never been sick before.

“What?!” Smidge shot a glare towards Creek. “You forgot your contraceptives too?!”

Creek fainted at the news he was pregnant.

Penelope groaned and frowned when Creek fainted.

“Oh my god…” Branch hurried to the bathroom and laid Creek down flat, away from the vomit. “Smidge, please go get another healer. Sage is sick…”

Angel looked surprised. She was not expecting this news.

Smidge grumbled and headed out the door.

Sage finished getting sick. She flushed the toilet and washed her hands. “I’m so sorry. I must be pregnant. I’ve never puked before…”

“Branch?” Creek started to come to. “I had this weird dream that I was pregnant. That’s not possible. I’m way too old for that.”

“It’s OK Sage…” Branch looked down at his mate. “That wasn’t a dream love. It appears our parts are still working full force. You and Penelope are going to have to be watched closely. You’re both at dangerous ages to be pregnant….” He looked very worried. He didn’t want to lose either of them. He was sure Penelope was going to be alright, but Creek was really pushing the age limit.


	19. Sugar Pills

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The truth about the contraceptives is explored.

Two weeks had gone by since Creek and Penelope had found out they were pregnant. Both were very confused. They were usually good about remembering their contraceptives, but they figured with all the commotion, and loss that had been going on, this must of both forgot. Creek found out he was carrying twins, so he was warned that it would be safer for him to reduce activity, so that he didn’t lose his babies.

Smidge was in the middle of sewing a teddy bear when she suddenly felt nauseous. She set the teddy bear down and bolted to the bathroom. She began getting sick into the toilet.

Creek heard her getting sick. He walked into the bathroom and frowned. He cringed, noticing she was also pregnant. He walked over and rubbed her back. He knew something wasn’t right. Smidge was extremely diligent about taking her contraceptives. “Let’s get you to the medical pod.” He gently picked her up when she was done getting sick.

“You shouldn’t be picking me up Creek.” Smidge snapped. She groaned and snuggled into his shoulder. She felt miserable.

“You’re not that heavy.” Creek smiled softly and walked towards the medical pod. He was hoping whomever was in the medical pod, would deliver this news carefully. He knew Smidge was going to go on a rampage. The triplets were supposed to be her last kids. Once at the medical pod, he set her down and smiled, seeing it was Coral. “Hey sweetheart, your mom’s not feeling too hot…” He backed away, towards the bathroom. Just in case he needed to hide from Smidge.

Coral frowned and walked over to Smidge. She put her hand on her mom’s leg and blinked a few times. She smirked and began to laugh.

“What the hell is so funny?! Damn it Coral! I feel like shit…” Smidge crossed her arms. She was not amused.

“Because you’re pregnant! Oh my god, I can’t believe it…” Coral held her stomach and smirked. She was very amused.

“That’s not funny and very much impossible! I’ve been taking my pills every morning! I am not pregnant!” Smidge whapped her daughter with a pillow. 

“I sense a life inside you mom. You’re pregnant.” Coral had a huge grin on her face. She grabbed the pillow from her mother and whapped her back gently.

Smidge shot a glare towards Creek. “I’m going to kick your ass if it is your child. If not yours, then I will kick Branch’s ass!” She got off the bed and stormed home. She was going to check those pills. It was clear that the highly affective drug was not working. She was ticked.

“Oh good, she didn’t threaten my life.” Creek chuckled nervously. “Give the grandbabies some love for me Coral.” Creek smiled at her, and then followed Smidge.

Coral watched them go and smirked. She knew what happened. All their older kids knew what was going on.

Smidge got to the flower pod and went into the kitchen. She pulled out the contraceptive pills and gave them a sniff. “Oh my god…” She looked towards Creek when he came in. “Sugar pills. We have all be taking fucking sugar pills. I’m going to kill a troll!” She threw the pills away and clenched her fists. She was trying to think who would have done it. Basil was the biggest prankster in the family, but he was also very busy lately. She groaned and gritted her teeth. “Chamomile…” She glared at Creek. “Go lay the fuck down before I kick your ass. I’ll be back. I have a bone to pick with my child…” She left the flower pod and slammed the door on her way out.

Creek winced and headed for the bed. He felt bad for whoever it was that messed with the contraceptives. They were in deep trouble. Smidge was the last troll that took practical jokes well, and this was pushing it.

Smidge got to Sage’s flower pod and pounded on the door.

Beryl answered the door and grinned. “Short Stack, how are you today?!” He dodged her hair whap and laughed. “Chamomile! The frisky flower is here!” He backed away before he got whapped again.

Chamomile walked out of the kitchen and frowned. “Hi mom, what has you looking so pissed?”

“What did you do to the contraceptives?!” Smidge walked over to her and put her face into Chamomile’s face. She wanted to tackle her but resisted that urge. She knew her young daughter was pregnant, and she didn’t want to harm her own unborn pod.

“She did what?” Sage walked out from the bedroom. She had just woken up from a nap.

Beryl put his hand over his mouth. “Oh! How many got pregnant?!” He had a huge grin on his face.

“I didn’t do anything.” Chamomile looked down at her belly. “Are you pregnant too mom?” She knew about Creek and Penelope. She had a feeling her brothers’ plans had worked.

“Yes, I’m pregnant! Someone swapped the contraceptives with sugar pills!” Smidge was fuming. She left the flower pod and took a deep breath. “Family meeting now!” She stormed towards her family’s flower pod. She was livid.

It took roughly half an hour, but all their kids showed up to face an enraged Smidge.

“How long is this going to take?” Carnation had her hand on her swollen belly. She almost didn’t go, but she didn’t want to be alone. She was in the early stages of labor and didn’t want to birth alone. She had a hold of Rapid’s hand. 

“Mom, this is really bad timing.” Rapid frowned. “Can we go?”

“No one is leaving until I figure out who among you played this practical joke! It’s not funny!” Smidge snapped angrily. “Who did it?! The sooner you spill, the sooner you leave!”

Basil put his hand over his mouth. The brains of the whole thing wasn’t present, but if he was, he would be very proud.

Carnation flushed and looked at all of them. “Someone better speak up, or I will be helping her kick your asses!” She shot a glare at Rapid. She knew what was going on, but she wasn’t going to be the one to speak up.

Rapid glanced at Basil. His heart began to pound in his chest. “I was the one that made the sugar pills, but I was not the one who pulled the prank…”

“Rapid! You shock me! What the hell?!” Smidge walked over to him and pulled him down by the shirt. “I’m going to kick your ass!”

“Easy mom, it was Sky’s idea…” Basil walked over and pulled his angry mother away from Rapid before she gave him a heart attack. “He talked about doing it three years ago before Frances showed up, but then stuff happened, and it wasn’t a good time to do it. He just started to talk about it again a month before he died. After he passed, I sat down and talked to Rapid about it. I made a promise to hand over the crown after their baby was born and everything smoothed out from the insanity that happened after Alexandrite in exchange for helping me with this. We both decided we wanted more siblings and knew you wouldn’t agree to it. We didn’t think all three of you would get pregnant, although most of us were hoping that you would. We know these babies won’t replace Sky, but it is something he wanted to do, and I’m honoring him by following through with his plan.”

Smidge sighed and glared at Basil. She was still ticked but understood it. She looked among them. “So, who swapped out the pills?!”

Everyone pointed at Jet.

“Oh great! Now I get to die. Thanks for telling on me…” Jet acted like he was scared, but he wasn’t. He was proud of himself.

“You got one of the shy ones to do it? Oh my god…” Smidge shook his head and walked over to Jet. She glared up at him. “I would whip your ass, but you were not the brains in this operation. I do have a question though. What are you all going to do if Creek, Branch, Penelope, Angel, or I die?! There are five babies coming that are going to need care, and Creek and I are almost fifty. We could easily go before these children are old enough to live on their own…”

“We will make sure they are taken care of mom. There are plenty of us who are old enough to make sure of it.” Basil smiled softly.

“I hate to interrupt this, but I need to go to the bathroom.” Carnation walked towards the bathroom. She had a firm hold of Rapid as she walked that way. “Oh my god…” She cried out in pain.

Rapid looked nervous. He helped her out of her underwear. “I don’t think we have time to run a bath sweetheart. Contractions are close together.” He checked her progress and frowned. He grabbed a towel and got ready to grab his third child. “You’re so brave Carnation.”

Smidge walked to the bathroom and sighed softly. “I should kick your butt…” She helped Carnation get into a more comfortable birthing position. “Deep breaths Carnation…”

Creek came over to the bathroom and smiled softly. “You made her come?! Oh, poor mama…” He knew Carnation was due to have her baby any day, so this wasn’t a surprise.

Several others watched or at least tried to. They were excited for the future regents.

Carnation leaned on the bathtub, in a semi-squat position. She cried out as a little girl was born. The little one was pink with purple colored hair. She began to cry as her daddy cleaned her up.

“There’s my pretty girl.” Rapid cleaned up his little daughter and smiled.

Smidge helped Carnation sit down, and then backed up and glared at Rapid. “I get to name her for what you did.”

“Sounds fair to me.” Carnation smiled softly. She had a feeling this poor girl was going to get some sort of odd name.

“Of course, mom.” Rapid gently gave his daughter to Carnation and gave her a kiss. He smiled and ran his hand through the little one’s hair.

“I want to name her Breeze, in Sky’s honor.” Smidge reached over and caressed her cheek. “Welcome to the world sweetheart.” She was still annoyed, but she was glad to know why her kids had done this.


	20. Mending A Broken Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Habanero is going to get some much-needed affection.

Habanero was getting ready to take Jingle to the graveyard to see Sky and Bubbles. He got her all set and took her hand. He had her drum in a backpack. He led her towards the graveyard. It was Jingle’s fourth birthday, and in celebration of her birthday, she wanted to visit her daddy and mommy. She had been practicing her drum, and he wanted to sing and help her hit the drum in rhythm with the song, like Bubbles would have taught her, if she was still alive. Once at the graveyard, he sat between Bubbles, and Sky’s graves. He set Jingle down in front of him and put the drum in front of her.

Jingle got excited and began hitting the drum in tune for a song she loved to play. She giggled and clapped her hands happily. She loved when she got to play her drum.

Habanero signed to her that they were at her mommy and daddy’s graves. He ran his hand through her red hair. He sniffled and signed in her hand that they were going to play a song for them. He told her they would be proud of how much she had learned lately.

Jingle felt his signs. She frowned and put her hands up to touch his cheeks. She pressed her face into his chest and sniffled. She missed her daddy, but she didn’t remember her mama. She only knew memories that her daddy told her.

Habanero held her for a few minutes, and then repositioned her again. He took her little hands and began beating the drum. He sang as he helped her beat on the drum. He let go once he was sure she knew what song they were playing.

Jingle smiled and beat on the drum. Daddy had been teaching her this song for a few days now.

Jade heard Habanero and Jingle. She made her way towards it, and then knelt onto her knees nearby.

Spinel and Morganite also heard it. They arrived and sat down by Jade. All three of them had been working very hard, together, the last month and a half to get Habanero to pull out of his depressed slump. Everything they had tried so far hadn’t been effective. They were all very worried about the little daddy. It was nice to see he was at least singing. That was a step in a good direction.

Once he was done, Habanero pulled Jingle into a gentle hug. He closed his eyes and rubbed her back. “I love you, birthday girl…”

Jingle put her hand on his mouth when she noticed that he started to talk. She smiled when he finished. She signed to him that she loved him too.

“She is a very lucky girl to have a daddy like you.” Jade smiled at him. She got up and walked over. She pulled him into a hug, sandwiching Jingle between her and him.

“Very lucky.” Spinel walked over and joined in the hug.

“You have a beautiful voice Habanero.” Morganite walked over and pulled him into a gentle hug.

Habanero smiled and snuggled into the girls and closed his eyes. He felt warm and safe with them. “I’ve been wanting to talk to your girls…” Tears filled his eyes. “I’m going to drop Jingle off at Basil’s to visit her cousins. Her siblings are all over there right now. They’re going to have a birthday party there later. She turns four today.”

“Aww…” Jade played with Jingle’s hair. “I have a present for you.”

“We have presents for her too.” Spinel smiled and looked at Morganite.

“She’s going to be spoiled.” Morganite smiled and put her hand on her swollen belly. At just under six months pregnant, she was going to have her baby soon. She was nervous and excited.

“Yes, she will be.” Habanero headed towards Basil’s flower pod. “Do you have Quartz and Diamond with you?” He got to Basil’s flower and knocked.

“Yeah, we do.” Spinel smiled softly.

Bask answered the door and laughed when Jingle bolted into the flower pod. “Hello to you too.”

Habanero reached his hair into Spinel’s hair and fished out Quartz. He gave him to Bask. He then got Diamond out of Morganite’s hair and gave her to Bask. “Thank you for babysitting. I’ll be over later for the party.” He smiled and motioned for the girls to follow. He headed for the flower pod. “Come on girls. Time to talk.”

Jade, Spinel, and Morganite followed. They looked confused.

Bask smiled and watched Habanero go. He was so glad to see Habanero smiling.

Habanero got to his flower pod and let the three girls in. He walked over to the couch and patted on it. “Sit down girls…”

Jade sat down and gave him a questioning look. “Have I done something wrong?”

Spinel sat down, and then had Morganite sit on her lip. She wrapped her arm around her mate’s chest and rested her hands on her belly. She smiled, feeling the baby kick.

“I’ve appreciated everything that you girls have done for me the last month and a half, and for you Jade, the last two months. I was doing some thinking. My babies and I need love. I can’t deny that life won’t be the same without my Sky and it certainly hasn’t been the same without Bubbles either. I don’t expect anyone to take their place. This is not what I have in mind. What I’m hoping, is to take on new love, and you three have filled my life with joy after losing the loves of my life. I’m hoping all three of you will take my hand as my mate, but I understand if you don’t want me. It’s a lot to take in.” Habanero looked nervous. He had a feeling Jade would accept, but he wasn’t sure about Spinel and Morganite.

Jade looked at Spinel and Morganite, and then back at Habanero. She giggled and pulled him into a gentle hug. “We were just talking about this yesterday, weren’t we girls?”

“Yes, we were. I was going to ask you after Morganite had her baby.” Spinel chuckled. “But since you asked before, we will do this a little early.”

Morganite had a huge grin on her face. “This is perfect. All our babies get taken care of. All fourteen of them.”

“We’re going to be busy.” Habanero chuckled and hugged Jade. He gave her a gentle kiss and looked into her eyes. “I love you girls. You have mended my broken heart…”

“You have mended our broken hearts too.” Spinel smiled and let Morganite go.

Morganite walked over and pulled Habanero close. She began kissing him. She groaned, liking the kiss.

“I went from no kids, to fourteen.” Jade giggled nervously. “Good thing I’ve been practicing lately.”

Habanero returned the kiss and ran his hand through her light pink hair. His colors began to restore. They made him happy.

“Oh wow! Your colors!” Spinel grinned ear to ear. “Morganite was right! She knew you would get them back…”

“Oh Habanero, your even handsomer then I imagined with your colors.” Morganite pulled him close and smiled wide. She hugged him to her chest. She was a happy mama.

“There’s the happy Habanero I remember.” Jade reached over and gave him a kiss. “I’m so glad we can make you happy.”

Habanero returned the kiss and ran his hand along Jade’s side. He rubbed her thigh and worked his way towards her vulva. He ran his hand along it gently. He kept the lip lock as he messaged her clitoris gently.

Spinel groaned and rubbed her crouch. “The bed will be more comfortable for Morganite.” She gently picked up Morganite and headed for the bedroom. She set her down and began kissing her.

Morganite giggled and groaned when she was set down. She kissed her mate back. 

“Come on, let’s go join them.” Habanero licked his fingers clean as he headed for the bathroom. He groaned, seeing Spinel kissing Morganite.

Jade picked up Habanero and set him down in bed. She giggled when he pinned her down with his hair. “I love you…”

“I love you too Jade.” Habanero pulled his shorts off, and then positioned himself. He kept her pinned down as he pushed into her with his swollen member. He moaned and began to thrust happily.

Spinel looked over and flushed. She had got a full view of his member before he pushed into Jade. “Oh wow…” She was happy to see that his member wasn’t as little as she thought. She loved him either way. She reached down to Morganite’s vulva and began rubbing her clitoris gently. “Oh my, you’re so wet…” She went back to kissing Morganite.

Morganite moaned and arched her back. She was very pleased. 

The four of them took turns mating with each other. This went on for several hours, until they had to finish up and go to the party. All four were happy and the two widows, and the widower were happy to have their hearts mended again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the song Habanero sang. I do not own the song. All credit goes to the song writer and artist.
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4N-POQr-DQQ


	21. A Missing Bogwolf

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A missing Bogwolf, causes a lot of mayhem in the village.

A few days later, Jingle escaped the flower pod. This was not unusual anymore. She escaped regularly. She began searching for her bogwolf, Shadow. She didn’t sense her presence. She grunted and crossed her arms. She stomped her feet and went towards the tree. She wanted to go tell auntie Symphony all about it. She began making her way up the tree. A feat she had done several times, even on her own. She had fallen out of the tree several times as well, but one of the bogwolves, usually Shadow, had always been right there to catch her if she fell. She made in high in the tree, before she lost grip and fell down. She squealed and got ready to land of nice warm fur, but instead, she landed on the hard ground. She immediately began to wail in pain. She had broken all four of her limbs upon impact. She also had several scraps and a concussion.

Habanero knew that cry all too well. He scrambled out of bed and ran towards the base of the main tree. “Oh god, she was out in the middle of the night again…” He hollered for help. He reached her and cringed, seeing that she was badly injured. “Oh my god!” He went to pick her up gently.

Jingle felt her daddy’s arms gently wrap around her. She screamed in pain and whapped him with her hair. She didn’t like all the hurt she felt right now.

Morganite, Spinel, and Jade followed Habanero. They cringed, seeing how injured she was.

“Let’s get her to the medical pod.” Spinel led Habanero towards the medical pod. She restrained Jingle’s hair so she would stop hitting her daddy. “Oh god, poor baby…”

“I’ll go keep an eye on the kids.” Jade hurried back home.

Morganite followed Spinel and cringed, feeling a contraction. She ignored it as they made their way into the medical pod. She had her hand on her belly.

Habanero got Jingle into the medical pod. He gently set her down in a bed and backed up. “Oh god…” He began to sob. He was scared.

Jingle screamed angrily. She hurt all over. Tears ran down her cheeks. She didn’t like that her hair had been restrained. When she was sat down, she screamed again in agony. She tried to lift her hand to tell them just how bad she hurt, but it only caused her more pain. She wailed, letting the whole village know she was hurt.

Honey was in. She hurried over took Jingle to the back to sedate her and take care of her broken bones. She looked worried.

Spinel stepped back and turned to hug Habanero. “Honey has it. She’s going to be alright.”

Morganite grimaced. “Spinel?” She groaned in discomfort. “It’s time…”

Habanero sniffled and pat on a bed. “Lay down mama. We’re in a great place to be in labor. It’s going to be alright.”

Spinel helped Morganite into the bed and covered her up with a blanket. She turned to Habanero and hugged into him. “It’s going to be alright daddy. Jingle is tough.”

Morganite laid on her side and hugged into a pillow during the next contraction. She looked down at Habanero and frowned. She knew he was scared.

Biggie came into the medical pod with Rocket and Emma right behind him. He set Mr. Dinkles down on a bed and burst into tears. “Don’t cry Mr. Dinkles…”

Emma rubbed Biggie’s back. Mr. Dinkles was getting old, and he was fading. She had a feeling his time was coming, but she walked with Biggie to the medical pod just in case there was a chance that something could be done. Mr. Dinkles was Biggie’s baby. She was very worried. All three of them were pregnant too, no thanks to the contraceptive prank which the boys had pulled at several homes. The added stress worried her.

Rocket put his hand over her face and began to cry. He loved Mr. Dinkles.

Honey finished fixing Jingle’s bones and healed her. She came out and frowned. She walked over to the bed Morganite was in. She gently set Jingle down by Morganite, and then walked over to the old worm. She checked him over, seeing his breathing was shallow. “There is nothing I can do Biggie. I’m very sorry. He’s fading from old age.” She wrapped him up like a baby, and then gave him to Biggie. “Snuggle him close. He wants to be with his daddy.”

“What’s wrong Biggie?” Habanero stayed with Morganite and held her hand. He was worried about her and Jingle, but he could see that Biggie was upset.

Biggie held Mr. Dinkles and began to wail. That was his baby. He remembered the day he got him. He never told anyone except for Smidge why he had Mr. Dinkles, but he was a very special pet. He knew he was old, but he didn’t want his baby to die.

“Mr. Dinkles is dying Habanero…” Emma held Biggie and cried with him. Her heart broke for her mate. She knew how close he was to his pet. Mr. Dinkles hardly ever left Biggie’s side.

Rocket wiped his face of tears and reached over to put his hand on top of Biggie’s hand. He was worried about him. “Deep breaths daddy.”

Habanero looked at Spinel and frowned. “Can you go get Jade please?” He was worried about Biggie. He knew how close he was to Mr. Dinkles.

Spinel nodded and hurried home.

“He’s a pretty worm.” Morganite breathed through her contractions. She was trying to stay calm.

Jingle groaned and began to come to. She noticed she was by Morganite. She snuggled into her and cried. She was frightened. She remembered the fall, the broken bones, and now everyone in the room with her were all upset. She was overwhelmed.

Emma looked over at Jingle. She was worried about her. She had heard her wails earlier.

Biggie cradled Mr. Dinkles and began to shake when Mr. Dinkles took his last breath. “Oh god…” He sobbed and held his dead pet close. 

Habanero sat on the bed with Morganite. He pulled Jingle into his lap and held her as she cried. He knew there were likely multiple reasons she was wailing. “I’m very sorry for your loss Biggie.” Tears ran down his cheeks.

Rocket snuggled into Biggie and sobbed with him. “Rest in peace Mr. Dinkles…”

Emma sat down with her mates and cried with them. “We love you Mr. Dinkles…”

Jade came in with Spinel. They had set the kids over to be at Wisp and Flick’s. She gasped when she saw that Mr. Dinkles was gone. She teared up and hurried over to Biggie. “Oh god…” She began to cry and hugged into her stepdad. “Not Mr. Dinkles…”

“He was a special pet?” Spinel sat down by Morganite and took her hand.

“A very special pet. Biggie hardly ever let him out of his sight…” Habanero sniffled and wiped his face of tears.

Morganite squeezed Spinel’s hand and gritted her teeth. “Oh god…” She breathed hard.

Honey looked sad. She walked over and checked Morganite. She got a blanket ready. “You’re doing a great job Morganite. The baby is almost out.”

Spinel stroked Morganite’s hand. “You can do it mama.”

Habanero ran his hand along Morganite’s baby pink hair. “Good job mama.”

Jingle sniffled and shifted so that she was snuggled up to Morganite’s back. She made an odd facial expression and widened her eyes. She got all excited, realizing what was going on. When trolls felt like this, that meant a new baby. She sniffled and signed the word baby.

Morganite held Jingle and hollered in pain as she began delivering the baby. She had tears in her eyes as her daughter was born. She was baby pink with baby pink hair. She looked up and watched Honey clean her newborn. The little one cried as Honey cleaned her. “She looks like me.” She breathed and signed into Jingle’s hand that she just had a baby.

Biggie heard the wails of a newborn. He looked over and sniffled. “With death there is life…” He rubbed his face of tears.

Jade walked over and sniffled. “She’s so pretty Morganite. You did a good job.”

Spinel smiled and gave Morganite a kiss. “I’m proud of you.”

“I love you Morganite.” Habanero ran his hand through her baby pink hair.

Honey gently gave the newborn to Morganite. She stepped back and smiled softly. She was tired. She wasn’t going to admit it, but she was getting too old for all this.

“I want to name her Butterfly. In honor of Mr. Dinkles.” Morganite smiled softly and cradled her newborn. She was a proud mama.

“That is so sweet of you.” Biggie smiled and walked over. “She’s beautiful…” He sniffled and wiped a few tears away. “Mr. Dinkles would be honored.” He began to cry again.

“Let’s go plan a funeral daddy. He deserves a proper one.” Rocket got up and led Biggie towards the door. Jade and Emma joined him.

As the sun began to rise a couple hours later, everyone gathered to say good bye to Mr. Dinkles. Although he was just a pet, he had been a big part of everyone’s lives. He was going to be greatly missed.

Biggie and Smidge were right there in the front, holding hands. Smidge held his hand tightly. “We are all here for you Biggie.” She had a determined look on her face. She was going to figure out a way to get a new worm for him. Mr. Dinkles was special. What a lot of trolls didn’t know, was that Mr. Dinkles was given to Biggie right before his mom died. A gift from her. Biggie’s mom had been sick when Biggie was still a child, and he had lost his father to a Bergen when he was still a baby, and she wanted to give him one last gift before she died. She looked worried for her best friend.

“Thank you, Smidge…” Biggie sniffled and looked down. “Take care of my loved ones Mr. Dinkles…” He began to sing in honor of his fallen pet. He was going to miss him so much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the song Biggie sang at Mr. Dinkles' funeral. I do not own the song. All credit goes to the song writer and artist.
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBHcUv_42zI


	22. The Blind King

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As promised, Basil steps down for his brother and sister in law.

A month had gone by since Mr. Dinkles had died. Basil had everyone gather in front of the main tree. He hummed softly as he got ready for a speech. He was going to keep his promise to his little brother and sister in law. He was not one to break promises.

“It’s time sweetheart.” Pearl grabbed his hand and walked towards the front. She had a smile on her face. “Sky would be proud of what you have done as regent. You did a good job.” She squeezed his hand and looked up at Bask when he put his hand on her shoulder. “I love you both.”

Bask looked among the crowd. Everyone was present. He took a deep breath and motioned for Carnation and Rapid to step up.

“Good afternoon everyone, I have gathered everyone here today, because Bask, Pearl, and I will be stepping down as you kings and queen. What had started out as a me joking around with Carnation, ended with me taking on a full platter that I had never meant to take. I continued to be regent at Poppy’s request to honor her last living request, to give Carnation time to grieve the loss of her parents, and to sort out the mess that her son had made when he murdered four very important trolls. I also wanted to prove that I could be a blind leader. I have my pride to keep after all. I hope I didn’t let anyone down in the four months I was one of your kings. I was just trying to do what was best, considering the awful circumstances.” Basil smiled softly when Smidge threw a pillow at him. “I deserved that.” He laughed and set the pillow aside. “With that being said, I hand the regency to Carnation and Rapid. They will be taking my place as regents of this kingdom until Maximus’ twenty first birthday in about eight and a half years. Thank you for not killing me off. I love you all so very much.” He stepped away and let Carnation and Rapid take his place.

Carnation stepped up and smiled. “Thank you, Basil, Bask, and Pearl for taking over during this difficult time in our lives. I appreciate everything you have done to protect our colony. You may have done some crazy things as king, but we all love you anyway.” She looked among her people. “As your queen, I promise to do what I can to protect you all. I hope to make my parents proud.” She tried not to cry. She grimaced and ended up chocking up. “Thank you for this honor.”

Rapid rubbed Carnation’s back. He knew it was hard for her since Poppy and Guy Diamond died. He was grateful that Basil took over so that Carnation had time to grieve and get through the rest of her pregnancy. He looked up at everyone and smiled softly. “As your new temporary king, I will do everything I can to be fair and keep the village safe. I hope I don’t let you down.” The very shy troll’s heart was pounding hard in his chest. He was so nervous.

Everyone cheered. They were happy that Carnation got a chance to step up and be the queen they knew she could be. They loved Basil, but he was never trained, and needed a lot of help. Carnation was prepared and was going to do the village proud until Maximus was ready.

As everyone broke away, Spinel, Morganite, Fantasy, and Beryl walked over to Basil. They looked shocked. 

“You’re blind?!” Morganite looked shocked. “You gave no indication of being blind at all. How the heck did you do that?!”

“It’s a secret I’m unwilling to share.” Basil had a huge smirk on his face. He had them fooled for darn near four months. He was tickled pink.

“He sure is. His daughter, Fairy, is blind too. They both hide their disabilities well.” Bask chuckled. He was just as amused.

“I was told not to say anything.” Pearl chuckled. “I thought for sure one of you would figure it out sooner or later. He does slip up occasionally, and he runs into stuff.”

“So, have you ever seen anything?” Beryl was curious.

“I’ve been completely blind all my life. So is Fairy.” Basil grinned ear to ear. He was amused.

“That’s amazing. Gap was so dependent when he was blind. You must share your secrets instead of hiding them.” Fantasy had a huge smile on her face. She had no idea and she had been hanging out with Basil, Bask, and Pearl a lot.

“Good luck getting it out of him. He’s tenacious.” Bask chuckled.

“He was a good king considering his disability. It’s a shame you didn’t stay with it a little longer.” Spinel chuckled. “Even though you kissed me. Brat…”

“An absolute shock considering he absolutely hates glitter.” Pearl mused. “I think he was trying to piss you off.”

“It sure worked.” Morganite giggled and put her hand over her mouth.

“I want to go home.” Jade walked over and put her hand into Spinel’s hand. She didn’t feel good.

“Before you go, Jade and Spinel, I think you should know your both about a month pregnant.” Basil smiled at them.

“I’m what?! How the hell do you know that?!” Spinel groaned and facepalmed. “Oh god, I was hoping to wait until Quartz weaned…”

“Oh! Yay! Habanero is going to be so excited!” Morganite hugged into Jade and squirmed with excitement.

Jade squeaked and put her hand over her mouth. She gagged and wriggled out of Morganite’s arms. She began puking onto the ground.

Basil dodged the puke and smirked. “Congratulations.” He walked towards his home. He was very proud of himself. He had done a lot of stuff for everyone the last four months. He hoped he made them all happy. Pearl and Bask followed him happily.

“Alright, let’s go talk to Habanero.” Beryl led the girls towards their flower pod. He was amused. There were so many kids on the way, but he was no surprised considering the tampering Basil, Jet, and Rapid had done with the contraceptives. They were all going to have to prepare of a huge population explosion.


	23. Young And Ill

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dill hasn’t been feeling good, and Basil, Bask, and Pearl are about to find out bad news.

A month had gone by since Basil, Bask, and Pearl had stepped down as regents. Basil had Dill in his arms. The nine-year-old wasn’t feeling good. He was smaller and thinner than normal for his age and hadn’t been active. His parents had been worried about him. Basil got to the medical pod and set his son down on a bed. He took his hand and stroked it. “Sprout will make you feel better sweetheart.”

Dill curled up on his side and hugged into a pillow. He didn’t feel good at all.

Sprout walked over and began to heal the young trolling. “Still not feeling good buddy?” It seemed that healing only ever gave him an energy boost. This was the third time this month that Dill had been brought in.

Basil crawled into the bed with his son and held him. Tears ran down his cheeks. He had a bad feeling in the pit of his gut that his son was dangerously ill.

Dill frowned and closed his eyes. “Healing is not making it better anymore.”

Bask cringed and looked down. He was very worried about his little boy.

Tears ran down Pearl’s cheeks. She was very worried about Dill.

Sprout looked up at Dill and put his hand on his cheek. “You’re very brave Dill. I’m so sorry you’ve been so sick. I wish there was more I could do for you.” He had a bad feeling Dill was dying of an incurable childhood disease. Most like a type of cancer.

Basil sobbed and held Dill close. All of his emotions that he had bottled up the last several months, were starting to come to a head. He had been trying so hard to be brave, and he wasn’t able to do it anymore.

Dill put his hand on top of Basil’s hand. “It’s alright daddy. Sky needs me. It’s going to be alright.”

“Don’t talk like that Dill.” Bask began to cry too. He crawled into the bed with him and held Dill, so he was sandwiched between him and Basil.

Pearl looked up at Sprout and sniffled. “How much time do you think we have left with him Sprout?” She chocked up and rubbed a few tears away. “I want to make sure he gets as much love and spoilings as possible before we lose him.” She knew their baby was dying. She wasn’t going to pretend he was alright.

“I’ll have to talk to Honey about it, but I want to say a couple of months? I’m very sorry, all three of you.” Sprout wished there was something he could do. He recalled the day Dill was born, and how much pain Basil went through that day. He knew Basil missed Sky. It just wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair at all.

“I’m going to give you the best two months of your life Dill. Whatever you want buddy, you got it, alright?” Basil was shaking as he ran his hand through Dill’s orange hair. He was shaking hard. He didn’t want to lose his little boy.

“Let’s get him home.” Bask sat up and gently picked Dill up. He held him and began walking towards the flower pod. “Is there anything you want to do when we get home Dill?”

“I want to make cookies for Cookie.” Dill smiled mischievously. He wasn’t sure if he had the energy to do it alone, but he knew Fairy and Chili would love to help him do it.

Pearl smiled softly. Of course, he wanted to mess with his auntie Cookie. “We can do that sweetheart.”

Basil followed Bask home and went to the kitchen. He began to get the ingredients together to make cookies. Tears ran down his cheeks. He was scared and upset, but he was going to do this for Dill.

“Is Dill alright daddy?” Fairy came into the kitchen and hugged into his leg. She looked worried.

“No sweetheart, he’s not alright. We need to love on him and do what he wants. Our time with him is coming to an end.” Basil sniffled and held her close.

Bask set Dill down in the kitchen, next to Fairy. He went to help make cookies.

Pearl walked over to the cradle and began feeding the babies quietly.

Dill walked over to Fairy and hugged her. “We’re making cookies for auntie Cookie.”

“Oh, Cookie will hate it. Let’s do it!” Fairy grinned and began helping make the cookies.

Once the cookies were all made, Bask put Dill on his shoulders and walked towards Cookie’s home. Basil and Fairy were with him when he knocked on the door.

Cookie answered the door and flushed when she smelled the cookies. She glared at Dill when he handed the cookies over, but her sneer turned into a frown when she saw Basil tear up. “What’s going on?!” She set the cookies down at the kitchen table.

“Dill wanted to make you cookies.” Bask sniffled and walked into the flower pod. He set Dill down.

Dill walked over and hugged into his aunt Cookie.

“We’re going to do whatever her wants until he can’t do it anymore.” Basil chocked up and began to cry into his hands.

Fairy snuggled into Basil and cried with him.

Cookie looked confused. “What do you mean?!”

“I’m dying auntie Cookie. Uncle Sky needs me…” Dill leaned onto his auntie. He was exhausted, but it was worth it.

Bask gently picked Dill back up and held him to his chest. “It means a lot to us that you accept the cookies this time Cookie.”

Cookie teared up and gave Bask and Dill a hug. She pulled Basil and Fairy into the hug and cried. “I’m sorry…” She wasn’t sure what to do. She was very sad.

Basil sniffled and snuggled into his family. He was scared. “I want lots of pictures. I don’t care that I can’t see them. I want them…” Even if he couldn’t enjoy them, he wanted them. Nothing was going to take back the fact that Dill was ill, but he wanted his memories to be cherished for the rest of his short life.


	24. Dill Done Did It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dill does something naughty.

Word about Dill’s illness spread around quickly. Everyone agreed to play along with whatever Dill wanted to do, within limitation of course. He wasn’t allowed to do anything harmful. A couple days after finding out he had about two months left in this life, he decided he wanted to pull a prank on his daddy Bask. He recalled hearing that putting a hand in warm water when someone was sleeping, made them pee their bed. He wanted to test this. He set a warm bowl of water on the coffee stand next to Bask’s side of the bed. He quietly and carefully set Bask’s hand in the water. He then walked back to his bed and curled up. He waited for a little while, before he ended up dozing off.

A short time later, Bask woke up when he began peeing in the bed. He groaned and put his hand down to hold himself. “Shit! God damn it!” He got up out of the bed and hurried for the bathroom.

Basil groaned and rubbed his eyes. “What happened?”

Pearl sat up and yawned. “Bask? It was a bad dream. Go back to bed…” She plopped back into the bed, and then rolled over to his side of the bed to steal his spot. She scrambled up she felt wet and frowned. “Bask?! You peed in the bed?!” That was something he had never done before. She groaned and headed for the bathroom. She needed a bath now.

Bask was on the toilet. He had a mortified look on his face. He hadn’t peed in bed since he was five. “I dreamt I was peeing in the toilet. I’m so sorry….”

Basil got up out of bed and went to run a bath. “It’s going to be alright. Life happens.” He checked the water, and then went to change the bedding.

“It’s alright. Accidents happen.” Pearl climbed into the tub, turned the water off, and sat down. She relaxed in the hot water. It felt good on her skin.

Bask joined her in the tub. He began bathing her. “Well, at least we get to enjoy some bath time together. Remember what happened the last time we did this?” He cracked a smile.

“Yeah, Opal resulted.” Pearl giggled and began bathing him. She had a huge grin on her face as she cleaned his shaft gently and slowly.

“Oh god…” Bask breathed in sharply. “Pearl…” He groaned and messaged her vulva gently. “Basil is going to be jealous…”

“Let him be jealous. He’ll get his turn.” Pearl rinsed his member off, and then positioned herself over his member. She pushed down gently and shivered in delight. She began rocking her hips. She moaned in pleasure.

Basil got the laundry going and then looked towards the bathroom. He walked in there and gasped. “You two are mating without me?!” He acted offended.

“Mmhmm…” Bask moaned and reached over to Pearl. He began kissing her happily.

“You’ll get your turn daddy.” Pearl kissed Bask back and moaned as she rocked her hips.

“The bathtub is not big enough.” Basil pouted. He wanted to join them. He put his hand in his shorts and began rubbing his swelling member. He wanted them now. “You guys are teasing.”

“That’s a shame.” Bask shivered in delight and bit his bottom lip. He was loving this.

“Mm….” Pearl kissed Bask’s belly and moaned. “Daddy is jealous…”

Basil grabbed a towel and picked up Pearl, releasing her from her attachment to Bask. He smirked and walked to the bedroom with her. “We have a nice dry bed to go to mama.” He set her down in bed and pinned her down. He began kissing her along her neck and shoulder. He grinded her gently, before slipping his member into her, filling her with his length. He began thrusting happily.

“Hey!” Bask got out of the bathtub and dried off. He headed for the bedroom and set the towel down. He positioned himself behind Basil and pushed his length into him and moaned in pleasure. He began thrusting in him happily.

Pearl moaned from the double sensation of both of her mates as Basil mated with her. She was very pleased.

This continued for a few hours, before they all snuggled up in bed together and fell asleep.

The following morning, Dill woke up. He headed for his parent’s bedroom and looked in. He cocked his head when he saw that the bedding was changed, but no other sign of an accident. He wondered if his plan worked. He shrugged and walked towards the kitchen. He grabbed a biscuit and walked over to the living room. He sat down and began eating it. He only ate a little bit, before setting the rest down beside his pillow. He curled back up and rested his head on the pillow. He was so tired.

“You only took a few bites.” Sunshine walked over and inspected the biscuit. She sat down by her little brother and pulled him into her lap. She ran her hand through his hair. “I love you little brother.”

“I love you too sis. Can you help me over to grandma Smidge’s home? I want to try something…” Dill didn’t think he had the energy to make it over there alone.

“Yeah, I can help with that.” Sunshine got up and picked him up. She was only a couple years older then him, but she was going through a growth spurt, and was considerably taller then him. She carried him to their grandparent’s home. Once there, she set him down and smiled. “What are we going to do?”

“Get a bowl of warm water.” Dill grinned. “I’ll show you…”

“What are you two doing here so early in the morning?” Smidge came out and turned on the light.

Sunshine almost went to do it, until Smidge came in the room. She gave her grandma an innocent look. “We wanted to come see our favorite grandparents.”

Dill groaned. He would have to get grandma another way. He sighed and leaned into Sunshine. “I wanna snuggle…”

“Aww, Dill…” Smidge walked over and gave him a hug. “Come on, let’s getting you laying down. You look so tired.” She walked him to the couch and helped him lay down. She got on the couch and snuggled up with him. “I love you little one.” She was worried about him. He looked so thin and fragile.

Sunshine sighed in relief and went to raid the cabinet for snacks.

“I love you too grandma.” Dill began to doze off. He was especially tired that morning, but he was happy to have grandma snuggles.


	25. Special Gift

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Biggie gets a special gift and so does Angel.

Five days later, Basil was on his way home on Galaxy. Rainbow, Dill, Sunshine, Chili, and Fairy had gone out with him to look for a glitter worm for Biggie. It had been just over a month since Mr. Dinkles’ death, and it was a little soon after Biggie lost him, but Dill had insisted they get the worm. It broke his heart, and everyone else’s heart that Biggie had been an emotional mess. They were all hoping that the worm they found would be one that Biggie would love forever.

As they approached the village, Basil had Galaxy stop. He helped his kids off her. He held Dill as he headed for Biggie’s home. Dill had the little worm in his arms. It was a yellow worm, with blue stripes, blue cheeks, and pink shading. It was a little female, but it was the closest they could find to looking like Mr. Dinkles. Once at the door of Biggie’s home, Fairy knocked on the door.

Emma answered the door and immediately let out a loud gasp. “Basil?! What do you have there?” She let him in and teared up. “Biggie, you have guests.”

Biggie was getting a cradle ready. At just over four months pregnant, he was preparing for the newborns that would be arriving soon. “Coming…” He got up and walked towards the living space. He froze when he saw Dill. His eyes went wide. “What’s going on?!”

Basil set Dill down and smiled softly. “Dill has a present for you Biggie.”

Dill walked over to Biggie and gently set the baby worm in his hand. “It’s a girl. She is all yours.”

“You picked her out just for me Dill?!” Biggie burst into tears and inspected the baby worm. She squeaked when she was handled. He hugged her close and began to cry. “I’m going to name you Pumpkin.”

“Mew.” Pumpkin still had a little bit of growing to do, but she was a sweet little worm. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the warm embrace.

“Thank you so much Dill.” Emma knelt down and kissed his forehead. “It was very sweet of you to get a worm for Biggie. It means a lot.” 

“You’re welcome.” Dill walked back over and put his arms up. “I want to go visit grandmas and grandpas next.” He was feeling energetic today and wanted to take full advantage of his boost of energy.

“Of course, sweetheart.” Basil smiled, picked up Dill, and walked over to Biggie. He gave him a hug. “I love you Biggie.”

Biggie hugged them and sniffled. “I love you too Basil. Thank you all so much.”

Basil and Dill hugged him back, and then Basil began walking towards his parent’s home. He got there and walked right in. He cracked a smile, sensing that Angel was in pain. “Our timing is not that great Dill. I think Angel is in labor.”

“Come back tomorrow!” Angel snapped from the bedroom.

Branch walked into the living space and smiled softly. “Good to see you son. Happy to see you too grandbabies, but you’ll need to come back later. Angel’s having her baby today. She wants to be with just us right now.”

“I want to stay.” Dill burst into tears and rubbed his eyes. “I want to be here when my cousin is born.”

Basil frowned. “Go home kids. I will talk to grandpa Branch.”

Fairy, Chili, and Sunshine headed home.

Rainbow didn’t go. She went to the corner instead and sat down. She had a look of concentration on her face. She burst into tears suddenly and began to cry into her hands.

Basil frowned when Rainbow didn’t go. He cringed when she began to cry. “Branch, I know this is bad timing, but it will mean so much to Dill if he is here. I’ll make sure he stays out of the way.”

Branch felt his heart sink. Dill and Rainbow were crying. He sighed and walked into the bedroom. He sat down by Angel and took her hand. “Dill wants to see the baby be born. This might be his only chance to see the miracle of birth. Is it alright if he stays?”

Angel flushed and glared at him. “He’s nine years old. He’s too young to see it.” She gritted her teeth and squeezed Branch’s hand during a contraction.

Rainbow got up and came into the room. She walked over to Angel and climbed onto the bed. She gave her a gentle hug and cried. “Great uncle Robin says he is here with you Angel. He wants you to know he loves you and is very proud of you…”

Creek blinked and looked at Rainbow with a look of shock. It was very rare, but some spiritual trolls could see the dead. It appeared that Rainbow was one of those rare cases.

“Rainbow, go home please.” Smidge shot a glare at the young child. She was not amused and didn’t understand.

Basil came into the room and set Dill down by Branch. He picked up Rainbow. “Go home sweetheart, grandma Angel is having her baby. It’s time to go.”

“OK, I’ll go.” Rainbow hugged her daddy and then looked at Angel. “Robin says he watched you have fun with his brother. He called his brother a brat. He’s proud of you though. He says he loves you very much and you’re doing a good job.” She didn’t understand what that meant, but Robin had insisted that it was important. When Basil sat her down, she headed out of the flower pod, and walked home.

Dill crawled into the bed and snuggled into Angel. He began to cry. “Please don’t make me leave.”

Angel had a look of disbelief. She wasn’t sure what that was all about. She cringed when Dill snuggled into her. “Dill, you’re breaking my heart.” Tears ran down her cheeks as she held the little one close. She cried out during another contraction.

Basil chocked up and began to cry. He missed Robin and he was so worried about Dill. He could sense that his poor boy was very weak. He hoped they wouldn’t make Dill go. He wanted to be there.

Creek reached over and held Angel’s hand. “He just wants to snuggle mama. Can he stay?”

Smidge frowned and shifted so that he was rubbing Dill’s back. “Don’t cry little one. There is no need to be upset.”

Branch’s cheeks were red. Robin knew what he had done. He was embarrassed.

“He can stay but I don’t want him watching the baby come out.” Angel breathed and closed her eyes. She held Dill and ran her hand through his hair. “Oh god, it hurts…”

“It won’t be much longer Angel. Those contractions are very close together.” Smidge moved so she was positioned to catch Angel’s baby. She grabbed a blanket and smiled. “You can do it mama.”

Dill calmed down and buried his face into Angel’s chest. He sniffled and rubbed his eyes. He was getting tired.

Basil sniffled and rubbed his face of tears. He sat down and leaned on the wall.

Creek shifted and watched on with a smile. He was excited for Angel.

Angel hollered in pain as she gave birth to a baby girl. She shifted carefully and reached over to help Smidge clean her. She was lavender like her mama, with royal blue hair and a purple tip. She began to cry as she was cleaned. “Hello sweetheart.” She breathed. She was so relieved that her baby was alright. “You’re so beautiful.”

Dill sat up and looked at the newborn. He looked confused by the small amount of blood that was present, but no one else was panicking, so he remained calm. He reached over when she was cleaned up. “She very adorable.” He looked up at Angel and smiled. “She looks like a little pixie bug.”

“Pixie would be a pretty name.” Branch smiled softly.

Smidge gave the baby to Angel, and then watched her hold her daughter. “She’s a pretty mix of you and Robin.”

“I love the name Pixie.” Angel cradled her daughter and smiled. “I love you Pixie. Your daddy loves you too.” Tears ran down her cheeks. She missed Robin, but it was good to know he was right there with her, making sure she enjoyed life.


	26. Gold At The End Of A Rainbow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rainbow visits her uncles at grandpa Creek’s request.

Shortly after Pixie was born, Basil came home and asked his daughter, Rainbow, to go talk to Stream and Aquamarine about the conversation she had with Robin. Her family was confused, but Creek had a feeling he knew what was going on. He wasn’t going to make Angel have more visitors, so he had requested Rainbow go talk to his brother instead. He had sent specific instructions that she was to explain to Stream what she had seen and heard.

Rainbow approached Stream and Aquamarine’s door. She knocked on it and smiled when Aquamarine answered the door. She smiled at him, and then put her hand on his swollen belly. “Hello sweet baby.” She had a big smile on her face. She looked up at her great uncle and sighed. “I’m here to talk to uncie Stream.”

“Come on in sweetheart.” Aquamarine led her into the house, and then sat down on the couch and sighed tiredly. He was officially going to be the oldest recorded troll to give birth. He was going to be a couple months shy of fifty-one when he had his youngest child. He was not thrilled with Basil, but he restrained from going and yelling at him. He knew why Basil helped with the contraceptive swipe, and right now Basil didn’t need the extra stress of being yelled at. Not with how sick Dill was.

“Hello Rainbow sweetheart, what are you doing here today?” Stream got up and walked over to her. He gave her a hug and smiled softly. Her aura was mixed. He wondered what was on her mind.

Rainbow put her hand on Stream’s swollen belly. She looked up at Stream and smiled softly. “Grandpa Creek wanted me to come talk to you about what I saw and heard earlier. I was able to talk to Robin. I saw him too.”

Aquamarine looked confused. “Rainbow? Sweetheart, Robin passed away five and a half months ago.”

Stream gapped his mouth open. He shook his head and smiled softly. “It’s alright Rainbow. This is rare, but it does occasionally happen in spiritual trolls. You have the ability to see spirits of trolls who have passed on. Come here, I have a book for you to read.” He took her hand and walked towards the bookshelf. He let her hand go and began going through his books. He found what he was looking for and gave it to her. “Read this, alright sweetheart? If you need help, have your mama Pearl or daddy Bask help you. Some of the words are hard to read. Grandpa Creek and I will help you with any questions you have.”

Rainbow nodded and put the book into her two-toned hair. She turned to Aquamarine and sat by him. “Victory says he still loves you and is happy that you have lived a full and happy life…” She smiled softly. “He says he wishes he could engage in activities with you and Stream. He loves Stream too.”

Aquamarine’s eyes went wide. “What?!” He looked at Stream. He rarely talked to anyone about Victory. Tears filled his eyes. “He’s still here with me?”

Stream blushed and sat down beside Aquamarine. He took his mate’s hand and held it.

“He says he has never left your side. He says he is taking good care of the kids for you.” Rainbow looked down at a couple of tiny trolling spirits. She looked up at Aquamarine and frowned. “Dill’s going to be joining them. I’m scared.” Tears filled her eyes and ran down her cheeks. She knew she couldn’t physically engage with any of the spirits, which meant that Dill would no long be able to cuddle or hug. She loved her slightly older brother so very much.

Aquamarine began to cry. He pulled Rainbow into a hug and held her. He wasn’t sure how to comfort her. Childhood loss was always very rough.

“We are all scared for Dill, but he’s got a lot of open arms to go to who will protect him and love him on the other side. It’s going to work out. It’s not going to be easy, but we will all get through it together. You know you’re always welcome to come by here and visit.” Stream sandwiched her between him and Aquamarine. He ran his hand through her hair. “You’re very brave Rainbow. You have a special gift. Embrace it, enjoy it, and use it wisely.” He had her look up. “Be warned, it’s not going to be easy. I’m here to help.”

Rainbow snuggled with her great uncles and nodded to Stream. She was still scared, but she was pretty sure she understood. She pulled a tissue out of her hair and wiped her nose. “Thank you uncie Stream…”

“You’re an angel Rainbow. We love you sweetheart.” Aquamarine held her. He was worried about her family, but he had a feeling her gift would be a blessing for them.

“You’re very welcome Rainbow.” Stream smiled softly and looked at Aquamarine. He was hopeful too. Rainbow had a great gift, and it was going to be both a blessing and a curse. He hoped she would be strong enough to handle it.


	27. Mischievous Child

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dill stretches the patience of a couple of trolls.

A couple more weeks had gone by, and Dill had lost the ability to walk. It didn’t stop him though. The determined child was going to do what he could until he couldn’t anymore. He was with his three older siblings. Sunshine was carrying him.

“Are you sure about this?” Chili didn’t want to face the wrath of a Smidge. Smidge was scary when she was pissed off.

“Yes, I’m very sure.” Dill had a determined look on his face. “You know what to do Fairy.” He smiled over at his older sister. He was so proud of his idea.

Fairy smirked and nodded. She headed into their grandparent’s home. She made her way to the laundry area and fished out five pairs of underwear from a pile. She tucked them into her hair, and then made her way to the door.

“Hi Fairy.” Branch smiled at Fairy as she walked by. He raised a brow when she left without saying hi or good bye. “That’s not suspicious…” He got up and followed her. “Fairy? What are you doing?”

“I’m doing what Dill asked me to do.” Fairy looked up at him and grinned.

“Oh god, please tell me grandma won’t want to kill him?” Branch looked worried.

“I won’t let her. She has to go through Chili, Sunshine, and I first.” Fairy had a demonic grin on her face.

“I didn’t see anything…” Branch headed back into the flower pod. He didn’t want involvement.

Fairy smirked and headed over to her siblings. “I got them. Let’s go to the flag pole.” She headed that way.

Sunshine smirked and headed for the flag pole. Once she was there, she set Dill down.

Fairy handed the underwear to Dill and grinned demonically.

Dill grinned. “You got one from all five of them? This is perfect!” He began to carefully tie each pair of underwear onto a thin rope, and then began raising them up so that the blew in the wind. He looked up at the glorious sight and smirked. “We did it!”

Sunshine put her hand over her mouth and tried not to laugh.

Fairy looked at her older brother. “Get pictures Chili.”

Chili pulled out his camera and took several pictures of the underwear.

Laughter erupted as trolls began to notice the hilarious sight. 

Smidge heard it and came outside. She flushed when she saw that one of the pairs was her own panties. She sneered and stormed towards the flag pole. The pregnant dwarf troll was pissed. “Oh my god! Who the fuck put my god damn underwear on the fucking pole?!” She stopped and widened her eyes when she saw her grandchildren at the base of the pole. “Who did it?!” She walked towards them with her hands on her hips.

“I did it!” Dill smirked. He was very proud of himself.

Fairy crossed her arms and got between Dill and Smidge. She could sense her grandmother’s rage. She was going to protect her little brother.

Chili backed away. Smidge was scary when she was mad. He bolted for the flower pod.

“Traitor!” Sunshine shook her head and watched their older brother retreat. She stood by Fairy and crossed her arms.

Smidge fused her brows and glared at them. She wanted to put these babies in a corner but decided against it. She walked over to the pole and began pulling the laundry down.

“What happened?” Basil came up. He looked confused. He was wondering what he missed out on. It sounded funny. It had to have been good if Smidge was livid.

“I hung up grandmas and grandpas’ underwear on the flag pole!” Dill was grinning ear to ear.

Basil snorted and began to laugh. “Let’s go home before Smidge kills us.” He picked up Dill and nudged Sunshine and Fairy towards the house.

Smidge glared at Basil. She got her laundry down, put it in her hair, and then headed home. She was fuming but wasn’t going to do anything because it was Dill.

“I want to go see auntie Melody.” Dill requested. He was very tired, but he was trying so hard to do as much as he could while he could.

“Alright buddy.” Basil smiled and held Dill close as he made his way towards Melody’s flower pod. “You know, she just had a baby two days ago. She might not be up for company.”

“I want to see the baby.” Dill snuggled into Basil’s chest.

“We can try.” Basil got to the door and knocked on it.

Winter answered the door and smiled. “Hi Basil and Dill. Coming to visit?” He let them in.

“Yes, I want to see the baby.” Dill smiled up at his uncle Winter.

Melody heard them and came out of the bedroom. She had her newborn son in her arms. He was a white glitter troll with dark green hair. He looked like his daddy. He had been named Blizzard. “Hi Dill. Bring him here Basil.” She walked over to the couch. She wasn’t thrilled with letting anyone other then immediate family hold Blizzard with how young he was, but for Dill, she would allow it.

Basil walked over to the couch and sat down. He sat Dill down by his side and smiled. “Is he a good baby?”

“He’s being good for a newborn.” Melody gently gave Blizzard to Dill and sat down beside him. She ran her hand through Dill’s hair. She was very worried about Dill. She had a special bond with him. She had watched him a lot when he was nursing to help cope with the loss of Storm. It broke her heart that he was so sick.

Dill held Blizzard for several minutes, before gently giving him to Basil. “You get to hold him for one hour, just like when auntie mama Melody did when I was a newborn.” He had a huge grin on his face.

Basil chuckled and gently put Blizzard on his chest. He held him and pat his little back. “Oh, so you’re going to help daddy with payback huh? I see how it is.”

Melody flushed and glared at Dill. “You did that on purpose.” She crossed her arms and sneered.

“It’s only fair.” Dill leaned onto Basil and stroked Blizzard’s tiny leg gently. He was so glad he got to meet his cousin Blizzard.

“Go enjoy a bath or something Melody. He’s going to be just fine.” Basil had a huge grin on his face. He looked over at Wind. “I want pictures please?”

Wind got up and pulled his camera out of his hair. He began taking pictures happily.

Melody got out of there. She hated getting her picture taken. She grumbled and headed for the bathroom to take a bath.

Dill closed his eyes and began to doze off. He was naughty today, and had ended up exhausting himself, but to him it had been so worth it.


	28. A Rare Gem

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beryl’s has babies coming, and he couldn’t be prouder.

Two more weeks had gone by, and both Sage and Chamomile were approaching their due dates. Beryl made preparations to welcome his first children to the world. He had a cradle large enough for two babies set up, diapers at the ready, and had clean blankets set up for when they arrived. He was so excited.

Sage was snuggled up to Chamomile. She held the small mama close. She knew Chamomile was scared. It was her first baby, and although it appeared that the baby was small and wasn’t going to cause her problems, Chamomile was worried anyway. She also knew Chamomile was sad and distracted about Dill. Dill didn’t go out anymore. He was stuck at home. He had been getting sick and had had a few infections. He couldn’t risk leaving home anymore.

Chamomile was deep in thought as they snuggled. She had been trying to nap, but she was having trouble relaxing. She had been having contractions.

Beryl came in and leaned on the wall. “Is there anything I can do to help you girls sleep? You look so tired.”

“I don’t think so Beryl. Pregnancy is exhausting and the babies don’t have much room to move. We are both uncomfortable, so rest is harder.” Sage smiled softly. She knew he was nervous. They all were. “If I go into labor at the same time as Chamomile, I want you to run and get my dad.”

Chamomile glanced at her hug time watch. She looked up at Sage and swallowed hard. “I think I’m in labor actually…” She said that a matter of fact like and remained cool as a cucumber.

“Let’s get you comfortable mama.” Beryl went to help her, but Chamomile stopped him with her hair.

“I’m comfortable. Don’t touch me.” Chamomile let him go and snuggled close to Sage.

Sage smiled softly. She had a feeling Chamomile was cranky from labor pains. She held her mate and ran her hand through her long royal blue hair.

“What should I do?” Beryl had gone through the plan a bunch of times, but now he was very nervous. He was worried about his mates.

“Oh god, get my dad.” Sage cringed, feeling her own contraction.

Chamomile smiled softly. “They will share a birthday.” She was amused.

Beryl bolted for the medical pod. He went in and looked around. “I need Sprout!”

“He’s at home today.” Destiny smiled softly. She could see that Beryl was anxious.

Beryl left and ran towards Harper and Sprout’s home. He knocked on the door.

Harper answered the door and smiled. She had her hand on her belly. She was one of Basil’s ‘fortunate’ victims of the contraceptive prank. “Is Sage in labor?”

Sprout grabbed his backpack and smiled.

“Yes!” Beryl ran towards the flower pod. He came back in and sighed in relief, seeing that they were both still doing just fine.

“Calm the hell down Beryl!” Chamomile glared at him. She was not amused by his panicking.

Sage held her belly and groaned in discomfort. She had never really been in pain, and this was extremely unpleasant.

Harper and Sprout were not that far behind. 

Harper walked over to Sage’s side and took her hand. “I’m here for you sweetheart.”

Sprout set his bag down and smiled softly. He helped them each out of their panties and checked their progress. “How long have you been in labor Chamomile?” He got a blanket ready. She was about to deliver her baby.

“I don’t know, three or four hours?” Chamomile cringed and gritted her teeth. She looked over when her son was born. He was a tiny orange glitter dwarf trolling with orange hair. He began to cry as Sprout cleaned him.

“You have been in labor this whole time?!” Sage cried out during the next contraction. She didn’t realize her mate was laboring right beside her. “You didn’t want to cuddle for a nap. You wanted to cuddle because you were in pain…” She was shocked.

Beryl looked surprised too. He walked over to the side of the bed and reached over to touch his little son. “He’s a tiny me.” He was so proud. He reached over and kissed Chamomile. “I love you mama.”

Harper watched on, amazed by how calm Chamomile had been.

Sprout got the baby clean, and gently gave him to Chamomile. “He’s handsome.” He helped the little one latch, and then turned to his daughter. He held her hand and smiled. “Deep breaths sweetie. I know it hurts.”

“Beryl, can we name him Citrus?” Chamomile looked up and smiled softly.

“Yeah, we can name him Citrus.” Beryl sat so he was between his girls. He ran his hand through Sage’s multi-colored hair. He was still nervous.

A few hours later, Sage gave birth to a daughter. She looked up at her baby girl. She was a bunch of different colors, ranging from all colors in the rainbow from red to indigo. Her hair was also rainbow splotched. She was also a glitter troll. She cried as her grandpa cleaned her up. “She’s so beautiful.” Tears filled her eyes. It had been very painful, but so worth it. She held her when her daddy gave her to her. She helped her latch on and sniffled. “Thank you so much daddy.”

Chamomile watched on and smiled. “She looks like Harper, but with glitter.”

“She’s stunning.” Beryl reached over and ran his hand through her multi-colored hair. “Hello pretty girl.”

“I want to name her Tourmaline.” Sage was exhausted, but so glad that everything went smoothly.

“That name is perfect for her coloration.” Beryl smiled and kissed Sage. “I’m so proud of my girls.” He had a boy and a girl. He was so happy.

“All three of you did a great job. If you ever need anything, you can always come and ask for help.” Harper smiled at them. She was a happy grandma.

Chamomile smiled and leaned into Beryl. She was very happy and tired. She couldn’t wait to see what the future had in store for their babies.


	29. A Bad Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dill has a very bad day.

A week after Chamomile and Sage had their babies, Dill woke up feeling blood run down his cheeks. He tried to lift his head and screamed, seeing a lot of blood on his pillow from a bloody nose. He began to wail.

Basil heard the scream and got up out of the bed. He hurried to his son’s aid. He could smell blood when he went into the room. He grabbed a tissue and pinched his son’s nose. “Shh…it’s alright. Daddy has you baby.” He held his son close and frowned. He could tell that Dill was petrified. “I’m here for you son.” He began to sing to him softly to try to get him to calm down.

Pearl came in and frowned at the sight of blood on the pillow. “He lost a lot this time. He might need a blood transfusion.”

“I’ll go get a healer.” Bask headed out the door. He felt nauseous, but his son was his primary concern.

Dill pressed into Basil and closed his eyes. “I don’t want to die daddy…” He hiccupped and hugged into him weakly. He was so scared.

Basil chocked up and held him close. He didn’t want him to die either. “I want to fix this so badly…”

Pearl walked over and took the bloody pillow away. She looked sad as she left the room. She went to go wash it so that the little one didn’t have to see it anymore.

Dill looked up into Basil’s eyes and sniffled. He coughed up some of the blood that had gone down his throat from the nose bleed. “I want a bath.”

“Of course, sweetheart.” Basil picked him up and carried him to the bath. He began to run the water, while keeping a hold of Dill with one arm.

“Is he alright?” Sunshine peeked into the bathroom. She had tears in her eyes.

“He’s very weak Sunshine.” Basil went to set him in the bath. 

Dill couldn’t keep his head up. He startled and tensed up when he thought he would drown. “Daddy!” He was shaking.

Sunshine rubbed her face of tears and walked over. She took Dill’s hand and held it.

Basil stepped into the bath, shorts and all, and sat down. He sat Dill down on his lap and began bathing him like had done several times when he was a tiny baby.

Bask came back into the flower pod. He ran to the bathroom and began getting sick into the toilet.

Honey came into the bathroom after Bask. She went to the tub and looked down at Dill. She looked sad. Dill was going to be her last patient. She was going to retire after he passed away. She reached down to the young one and checked his veins. “I’m sorry Basil, but there is nothing I can do for him. I don’t think I can even stick him.” She put her hand on his shoulder. Tears filled her eyes and ran down her cheeks. She had seen a lot of yuck in her sixty-five years of life, but watching Dill slowly die had been the hardest for her. She felt awful for them.

Dill glanced towards Honey and groaned. “I don’t want to die…” Tears ran down his cheeks. He was so scared.

Pearl finished getting the bed changed. She walked into the bathroom and rubbed Bask’s back with her hair.

Basil looked towards Bask and sniffled. “Daddy Bask is pregnant…” His emotions were mixed. He was happy to find out that he had another baby on the way, but his second oldest son was hurting and dying.

Rainbow stepped into the bathroom and walked over to the bathtub. “Sky knows your scared daddy, and he wants you to know he is right here with you. He says not to be scared. He’s going to take very good care of Dill for you.” Tears ran down her cheeks. She was very scared.

Bask finished getting sick. He walked over to Rainbow and hugged her to him. Tears ran down his cheeks.

“Let’s get you comfortable Dill.” Honey grabbed a towel and gently wrapped him in it. She carried him to his room and dried him over. She tucked a blanket around him.

Basil got out of the tub and went to go change. Tears ran down his cheeks as he got dry shorts on. He rejoined Dill in the bedroom. He had a feeling his son wasn’t going to make it through the night. He took Dill’s hand and held it. “I know your scared son, but uncle Sky is waiting for you on the other side. He’s going to take good care of you.”

Dill looked up at his daddy. He was too weak to reach up to him. Tears ran down his cheeks. “I love you daddy…” He cringed, feeling blood run down from his nose again.

Pearl walked over and gently pinched his nose. “It’s alright baby. We’ve got you. We’re all right here with you.”

Bask got a drink of water. He drank some, and then set the cup down by Dill’s bed. He crawled into the bed and spooned his son. He held him close and closed his eyes. He was so scared.

Rainbow sat by her brother’s bed and looked at Basil’s side. Tears ran down her cheeks.

Sunshine had gone to get Fairy and Chili. The three of them stood by Rainbow and held hands. Fairy was shaking. She could sense what Basil sensed. She was trying so hard not to cry.

Basil stroked Dill’s hand. “You made me proud son. I love you too, so very much.”

Dill felt daddy Bask’s warm embrace. He looked at his mama as she tried to stop the bleeding. He whispered again that he loved his family. All of them. He began to fade. He was losing his battle to live.

Pearl threw the tissue way and crawled into the bed with Dill. She hugged into him and held him.

Basil joined her, and sandwiched Pearl and Dill between him and Bask. He held them close and sobbed when he felt the life go out of his son. All three parents instantly went gray.

Honey looked down and swallowed hard. She turned to the children and escorted them out of the room. “I need you kids to go to Cookie’s home. Tell her that Dill is gone. Stay there, please. Take the babies with you.” She headed out of the door and towards Carnation and Rapid’s home. There was a funeral to plan.

A few hours later, everyone gathered to say good bye to Dill. Pearl was between her mates and leaned into Basil. She had her hair wrapped around her mate’s hands. She sang sadly. Her little heart was broken.

Basil wept and kept a tight hold of Bask’s hand. He could feel Pearl’s hair around their hands. His heart was crushed.

Bask was inconsolable. He had his free hand on his belly. Dill wasn’t going to be able to hold his brother or sister. It wasn’t fair.

“I promise to take care of them Dill.” Rainbow was outside of the crowd, talking to Dill’s spirit. Tears ran down her cheeks. She wanted to give him one last hug so bad. “I love you, big brother.” She walked over to her siblings. Life wasn’t going to be the same without him. It wasn’t fair at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These are the songs that Basil and Pearl sang. I do not own the songs. All credit goes to the song writers and artists.
> 
> Basil: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5iyk4pf2uU
> 
> Pearl: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kodr0nR5ULs


	30. A Birthday To Remember

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The entire village has a present for Basil for his Birthday.

Three months had gone by since Dill was put to rest. Everyone gathered for River, Basil, and Melody’s thirtieth birthdays. Everyone had got their colors back, except for Basil. It was very clear that the normally strong and spirited father was struggling. Fairy and Dill were his partners in crime. He still had his older accomplice, but it was not the same without his Dill. It was going to be Dill’s tenth birthday too, which made the day even harder for Basil. He also missed Sky. His twin would be celebrating his birthday today too.

Bask was right beside Basil. He had his hand on his belly. He was four and a half months pregnant. He smiled when he felt his baby move. He put Basil’s hand on his belly and smiled. It hadn’t been easy, losing a child while pregnant, but he had done everything in his power to stay strong for his mates and his unborn baby.

Basil smiled when he felt the baby kick. He leaned gently into Bask and snuggled with Bask’s belly. He gently stroked where the baby was moving. He looked forward to loving on the newborn. He was so glad that the baby was remaining strong and determined to make it to term.

Pearl walked over with Carnation and Rapid. She had a huge grin on her face as she walked over to her mates. She sat down on Bask’s side and put her hand on Basil’s hand.

Everyone was there for the birthday party. Several families had newborns. Smidge had ended up having a dwarf sized daughter, whom was light green with royal blue hair. She named her Iris. Creek had a boy and a girl. The boy happened to come out silver glitter, which ran on Creek’s side of the family. He had royal blue hair. He had a girl, who was lavender like her daddy, with royal blue hair. They had decided to name their babies after Poppy and Guy Diamond, in honor of their best friends. Penelope had a girl who was pink with capri blue, yellow, and red three-toned hair. They had named her Charity. Biggie had had a boy. He was blue with blue hair like Rocket. He was named Zen. Rocket had a girl, who was dark blue with blue hair. She was named Bunny. Emma had had a girl who was dark green glitter with dark green hair. She was named Lace. Aquamarine had a boy. He was light blue with green and light blue two-toned hair. His name was Glacier. Stream had a boy too, who was lavender glitter with light blue hair. He was named Liquorice. Cherry had ended up having a boy, whom looked just like Pistachio, with green glitter and light green hair. His name was Emerald. Harper had a boy, who had light yellow skin with a few blotches of blue on his skin. He had three toned orange, yellow, and light green hair. His name was Blast, because he reminded his parents of fireworks. All babies that had resulted from the contraceptive prank.

Jade and Spinel had also recently had their babies. Jade had a red glitter baby girl with white hair. Her named was Ruby. Spinel had a boy, who was red with marron colored hair. His named was Spark. Habanero was a very proud daddy.

Carnation sat down with little Pixie. She held her to her chest and looked at Rapid. “Go, he will be very happy.”

Rapid smiled at his beautiful wife, and then made his way to Basil. He had a large scrapbook in his hands. He walked over to Basil and gently set the book down on his lap. “Everyone in the village worked hard to make this possible Basil. Inside it are all the pictures we could find of Dill. Now before you get upset, we all know you can’t see them. Biggie came up with a good idea to help fix that, and Carnation made it possible with her artistic skills. On the left is the actual picture that was taken of Dill, doing a bunch of different activities, ranging from when he was an infant, to the last picture that was taken of him two days before he died. On the right side of each page, Carnation recreated the picture with different textures, so you can feel what he did in that picture. We are all sorry it took three months, but it took a lot of work to make it just right.”

Basil widened his eyes. He opened the book and ran his hand along the left side. He could feel that it had a picture. He moved his hand to the right and gasped. Sure enough, there were textures of what the picture represented. He concentrated on the textures, and then looked at Pearl. “Is this when he was a week old? I think Biggie took this picture…”

“Yes, it sure it.” Pearl smiled and teared up. She began to cry happy tears. She looked up at Bask and smiled at him.

Bask teared up and put his hand on Basil’s shoulder. “It’s a memorial book, in honor of Dill’s tenth birthday.”

Basil teared up and began to cry happy tears. “Thank you all so very much.” His colors began to restore. They had tried so hard to make this yucky time in his life better. It gave him a lot of joy. He felt he had the best family a troll could ever have.


	31. A Little Pickle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bask welcomes his baby into the world, and this little one gives them a lot of joy.

A month and a half went by, and it was the first day of spring. It had been exactly one year since Robin, Sky, Poppy, and Guy Diamond were murdered. The village was buzzing and very busy. They were all trying to keep themselves distracted from the awful memories that were brought on by Alexandrite the year earlier. Basil, Bask, and Pearl were not out today though. Bask was showing very strong signs of going into labor at any time. They didn’t want him being out in the cold when he went into labor. Pearl had made breakfast and was helping the babies eat. It was Horizon and Sky’s first birthday.

“Da!” Sky bounced in his seat and reached towards Bask. He wanted to be picked up. He was showing signs of being a spirit troll, and he could sense that something wasn’t right with his daddy.

Bask looked over at Sky and smiled softly. “Hang on buddy…” He took in a deep breath and put his hand on his swollen belly. He could feel he was having a contraction.

Pearl smiled and picked up Sky. She held him close. “Daddy is right sweetheart.”

Basil dropped his fork and ran out the door to get a healer. He got to the medical pod and smiled. “Honey, I thought you were retired.” He could sense she was there.

“I am retired. I’m here to couch Ash.” Honey was sitting in a chair. “Is Bask in labor?”

“Yes, he is.” Basil nodded and smiled. He was nervous and excited.

“I’ll go.” Sage put her backpack on her back and headed out the door.

Basil walked with her and smiled softly. “Thank you for coming Sage. How are the babies?”

“They are getting big. Citrus is starting to act like his mama.” Sage smiled at Basil. She walked into the flower pod and helped Bask to his feet. She walked with him to the bedroom. “Deep breaths daddy.”

Bask had stayed at the table to finish breakfast. He walked to the bed and leaned on it during a contraction. He hollered in pain and grasped the sheets.

Pearl asked the kids to go out and play. She followed Bask and Sage into the bedroom.

Basil was right by Bask’s side. He rubbed his back when he hollered in pain. “You can do this daddy.”

Sage gently helped Bask out of his pants and helped him get comfortable. She grabbed some blankets and waited for him to get closer to delivery.

A couple hours later, Sage got ready and looked up. “I see orange hair. You’re so close.”

Bask breathed hard and squeezed Basil’s hand tightly. He cried out as he gave birth to a light green son with orange hair. He looked up and burst into tears. “He’s a slightly lighter shade then Dill was.”

Sage began cleaning the baby up. She smiled when he began to cry. “He’s beautiful.” She gently gave him to his daddy. “You did a good job.”

Basil reached over and ran his hand along the baby’s orange hair. “Hello sweetheart. Welcome to the world. We all love you so much.”

Pearl began to bawl. “Oh god, he looks so much like Dill.” She reached over and caressed his cheek. “Hello little one…”

“I want to name him after Dill. His name is Pickle.” Bask sniffled and cradled his baby boy close. He was a very welcomed addition to their busy home. He was happy that their littlest prince was born and had made it through a difficult time in their lives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This ends part 7 of "The Family Curse". I have one last part starting up later today. Hope you enjoyed!


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